Rogue
by Sakura-Centric
Summary: She was the catalyst. An uncontrollable force bent on destruction and chaos. We'd had it wrong from the beginning. HidaSaku UNDER CONSTRUCTION
1. Missing

**Rouge**

**I don't own Naruto, So… Whatever.**

**Chapter One; Missing**

"What do you mean Sakura's _missing_!" Snapped the blonde haired Hokage, face flushed with anger as she received information of her apprentice's recent whereabouts or better, l_ack thereof._

"Well M'lady, she just…" The silver haired copy nin stuttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He really didn't want to be the one to have to tell her Sakura had been kidnapped by the an Akatsuki member,

"The Akatsuki! We have to go get her! Those guys will kill Sakura-Chan!" Naruto growled, his injuries were nearly fatal and still healing. It was hard for Kakashi to admit; but without Sakura there with her medical Ninjutsu on hand they were barely able to escape Deidara with the Kazekage.

Tsunade's face gained a sober expression and she let out a dragged out breath of air, obviously concerned with her student; Sakura was the last person she'd expect to be captured. But because of her ties to Naruto it was obvious what they were going to try do,

"Sakura is a smart girl, she'll be able to take care of herself until the Anbu blackops-" She started, unable to stop the doubt from creeping in to her own voice, she had no idea how long the Akatsuki were going to keep her alive and if she so happened to be used as bait for Naruto knowing him he'd fall right into the trap...

"NO! We have to go NOW! Who knows what the Akatsuki are doing to her!" Growled the blonde haired Kyubi vessel, his eyes crazed and watering with sadness and anger, he blamed himself for her capture- he should have been there to protect his comrade.

Tsunade frowned, seeing the look on Naruto's face meant he wouldn't take no for an answer, She clasped her hands together in determination and stood suddenly from her desk,

"We leave tonight, Naruto, try to gather the shinobi that aren't currently on missions. I'll allow you to do this but… you can't join the search. It is too much of a risk to the-" She started, sighing when she realized the door to her office was thrown open and Naruto was gone.

"Naruto…" The blonde haired Hokage sighed, rubbing her temples in irritation.

**Meanwhile; With Sakura.**

"Ungh…" I grumbled, my eyes slowly starting to open, my vision blurred and my eyes burning, I attempted to reach up to rub my forehead, I felt horrible. My body ached in every joint, muscle, bone and tendon.

My eyes widened as I realized the earth that was moving faster than light beneath me, I froze out of instinct to assess my situation.

I was asleep, so whoever has me right now wants me alive otherwise they would have killed me while I was incapacitated.

I closed my eyes and slowed my heart, making sure there was no sign indicating that I'd woken. I sensed for chakra, realizing the person carrying me had odd chakra pulses I slightly fluttered one eye barely open, peering through thick black eyelashes.

My heart sped up sporadically.

What looked back at me were the black and red-clouded fabrics of Akatsuki robes,

I let out the smallest of sighs; my chakra wasn't low, not yet at least. Chewing on my lip I assessed my physical condition. Other than the soreness my muscles felt sluggish, I couldn't do a proper assessment seeing as use of my chakra right now would signal the Akatsuki currently carrying me.

I opened my eyes, not making sudden movements in case they were intent on me staying asleep. It would be a very, very stupid decision to shock an Akatsuki member into a state of alarm, in the state I'm in right now I'd doubt I could take one on directly.

My best option was a get-away, if they took me back to the base they would try to torture me into information on Naruto, and I would resist it until they killed me. That much was clear.

I needed to think of a plan.

I could catch them off guard, although there was most likely more than one traveling with my captor, I could attempt to fight them all of, although they would easily advance me if I couldn't even defeat one with Chiyo-

Ah Shit, where's Chiyo?

I squeezed my eyes shut in irritation. Why the fuck was everyone trying to make things harder than they needed to be for me? I couldn't get a goddamn break. My arm stung slightly as if to remind me what'd happened.

Oh yes. I'd given Chiyo the last of my antidote to allow her escape to Gaara. I suppose this mission wasn't a complete failure as long as she reached Naruto and Kakashi they would know who took me and have a good idea of the direction we were going.

As the Akatsuki carrying me steadily slowed his pace I decided we were getting closer and closer to a stop, I would attack there. We were entering a village by the distant sounds, they would rent an inn, but how would they go about dragging my 'unconscious' body around?

"Zetsu-Sempai are we close? Tobi is hungry and Deidara and Sasori won't leave Tobi alone! Can I watch Cherry-Chan first? Tobi is very, very hungry- Oh Zetsu-Sempai how long are we gunna' be here! I think Cherry-Chan's awake, she keeps opening her eyes and-" Suddenly the loud whining voice halted as the figure carrying me stopped.

Fuck, stupid motherfucking Akatsuki.

I kept my eyes shut and my breathing small and simple, my heart mimicking a sleeping state perfectly, although I knew that stupid motherfucking Akatsuki had given me away. What kind of Akatsuki member talks like that anyway?

"I know you're awake." Growled a raspy almost mocking tone, by the closeness of it I figured it was the person who had been carrying me.

Oh well, it was now or never.

My eyes shot open as I deflected the hit that blonde haired man attempted to land on the side of my neck, in an attempt to knock me out. I jumped back from the duo-toned man's arms, avoiding the snapping of the large green plant-like dome around his head.

I landed gracefully on my feet.

There were four Akatsuki, standing before me. I knew better than to stay and fight, escape was my only hope.

Two shadow clones appearing beside me as we hopped over the massive stone gates of the small village, separating instantly. I knew I didn't have enough chakra to go far with them, but I didn't need to, as long as they could at least throw them a millisecond I could get away. I was sure of it.

I could sense them close behind me, but they weren't as fast.

I was one of the quickest shinobi in the leaf, if I had any special abilities, speed and agility would be two of my best.

I knew they would eventually catch up with me, although all I really needed to do was make one stop.

I jumped into a dark alley, between two large buildings, taking a moment to heal the worst of my wounds. The one on my abdomen from Sasori's sword, and a few deep gashes on my forearms and thigh and my sprained ankle.

"Shit..." I mumbled, my chakra was low, and when I say low I mean; _My shadow clones just disappeared and I was getting lightheaded low._

I quickly bolted from the alleyway, disappearing into the crowds of people, looking around I knew they would find me instantly due to my pink hair being able to be seen from a bird's eye view.

I scowled and pushed past people, the large amount of blood on my clothes was drawing too much attention as it is, besides the fact that I didn't have enough chakra to sense if the Akatsuki were near made fueled my paranoia and agitation.

"Are you alright Miss?"

"Do you need medical attention Ma'am?"

"Oh dear, do you need help?"

Kind villagers were stopping me, although I only smiled at them and gave them a quick 'I'm fine' before making my way as deeply into the crowd as I could get. I soon found a salesman, he was working at a stand, selling shinobi apparel, I found a simple black hooded cloak, searching weakly through a pouch strapped to my left thigh for my wallet.

My breath was coming out in rasped pants, this was bad, Sasori's poison was still coursing through me.

My hands were shaking slightly as I tossed the black cloak onto the counter, the man's eyes scanning over my bloody, bruised form with concern.

I ignored his look out of embarrassment as searched through my panda-bear shaped wallet, until I felt his cool hand stop my motions, I looked up to see his crinkled eyes full of understanding,

"Just take it and go." He smiled,

I smiled gratefully to the kind old shop keep and yanked on the cloak, tugging the hood over my mess of pink hair before disappearing into the crowd, I needed to find somewhere safe to be, but first I needed to send a message to Tsunade-Sama.

Soon I came across a large building, realizing I was in Oto. Great, Just fucking great, I'm too close too Orochimaru, too fucking close to that traitor Uchiha. Sound would not help me, that much I knew. They were no allies to Konoha Shinobi.

Well, what to do now.

My chakra was pretty much gone, so they couldn't sense me worth shit right now, my body was starting to tremble and ache from fatigue and poisoning, and I was horribly dehydrated.

I needed to set camp,

At least if they found me tomorrow, which I'm positive they will, for whatever reason they kept me alive they needed me. So they could face me and kill me tomorrow, at least then I could put up a decent fight. I'm sure Naruto would be proud.

I mustered up whatever strength I could at the moment, considering the state I was in I could pass out at any second.

I took refuge in the woods, the darkness masking me enough to where I could almost feel at ease, _almost._

They would find me, that I was sure of.

I started a small fire, **small** fire.

Not big enough to allow me to see past a six foot radius, just enough to offer necessary warmth, if anything.

I sighed and leaned back against a nearest tree, groaning as it pulled slightly on the still healing scar on my abdomen, I needed to be careful, If I moved around too much I would end up tearing the scar open and possibly bleeding out.

I smirked in the light of the crackling fire. I would possibly die tomorrow, well, I would most likely die, did I have anything I needed to say to anyone? Maybe to tell Ino she can keep my green scarf, or Naruto that once my apartment is resold he'll need somewhere else to crash when he gets home from a mission, or tell Kakashi that he's going to grow up old and alone with only his porn for company?

I closed my eyes, my body ached terribly, everything sore and stiff. It amazed me they didn't just kill me in my sleep, although; I knew they were desperate for information in the Kyubi.

_**Yeah, Desperate enough to Kidnap you. Why not just go with them? You could go back to the way things used to be, don't you remember when we lived in-**_

_Shut up. We will never go back to that. Konohagakure is our home, it has been for almost eleven years now, and you won't ruin it for us, it's where our friends live. It's our village and we're accepted there. _

_**Barley, Need I remind you that just yesterday Tsunade recommended Ino to take over as head medic, I mean, what the fuck? We've been working at this since we were just a genin-**_

_So? If Tsunade-Sama thinks she's more qualified for the job than she must be. She wouldn't put someone incompitant in charge of the hospital._

_**Sakura, you can lie to anyone, but yourself, or me for that matter. Oba-San wouldn't have wanted this for us. **_

_I don't care Inner, I can't just abandon everything the leaf taught me. Oba-San abandoned us, she surely doesn't care what we do… So I don't care what she would have wanted for us._

_**You act like you can control it, the curse. It's not going to magically go away just because you ignore it Sakura. It's there, it's thriving and it won't go away. You're not meant to be with people like those in the Leaf Village-**_

I felt the anger and sadness crawl on my skin as I grudgingly clutched at the grass between my fingers in anguish.

_I don't believe in silly little fairy tales, the curse isn't real… _

_**So what mother did to us wasn't real? You don't remember, you don't remember her cursing us? The nightmares, the memories, you can't tell me you can't feel it there. We are the same person Sakura, I feel what you feel and I can feel it here. It's getting stronger and when it peers it's ugly face you're going to lose yourself just like she did.**_

I frowned sadly, memories that I had suppressed over the years trying desperately to surface, to only be pushed back in anger and the bitter taste of betrayal.

_I don't care__**. I don't care! **__I'm nothing like her! Nothing! _

_**But it doesn't matter! Because it's not your fucking choice! It'll come for you just like it came for her. If you would have just accept it maybe you won't lose your fucking mind in the process. You could try the one fucking thing no one else would!**_

I rolled my eyes at the venom dripping from Inner's words. My head aching painfully at the memories threatening to appear, memories carefully locked away through years and years of denial and self therapy-

My heart began to clench painfully as my head fogged, What was going on?

The world spun around me viciously, I leaned roughly on my arm, barley propped up, suddenly I collapsed painfully on my side, ripping the healing wound on my abdomen back open, I yelped.

My vision shook and everything doubled in whatever I could see by the fire's dim light, a flash of silver hair caught my eye and relief washed over me, even for an instant it felt good to hope,

"Kakashi?" I mumbled, my voice weak and barely audible.

A velvety laughter came from the air and my stomach rolled, "What a coincidence finding you all alone out here. Well… Since Tsunade decided she wouldn't heal Lord Orochimaru, perhaps we can try the next best thing." The cocky mocking tone reminded me of someone…

But who…

My mind was darkening, my eyes glassy and fogged and suddenly my heart sped up, dangerously, considering the state I was in, my mouth watered as I resisted the urge to vomit out of distaste and fear.

"Ka...bu...to…" I whispered, before I lost control of my body and collapsed into unconsciousness.

**Back at the Akatsuki base.**

"So they failed to retrieve the girl." Mumbled the flat masculine voice of Madara Uchiha, Who was casually tapping on his desk with an amused smirk gracing his pale features.

He looked at the orange swirled mask sitting before him with curiosity, "Obito, would you please send a message to Pein? " The eldest Uchiha smirked, looking at the one so many believed to be himself in disguise.

How pathetic.

"Yes Madara-Sama, Tobi will tell Leader-Sama." The childish voice squeaked, covering his face with the odd orange swirled mask.

"Excellent, Oh, and make sure, they take extra good care of her would you? I wouldn't want the last of the Haruno to perish from Hidan's barbarianism." Madara smirked casually,

He was going to exterminate Orochimaru for getting his dirty hands on the Akatsuki's new plaything.

**With Sasuke**

My eyes wandered to Sakura, who was lying on the examining table of Kabuto's lab, She was a mess.

Blood covered her clothing, drenching her completely. Her shoulder length hair seemed a paler pink, and her skin was still soft and fragile porcelain colored. Her face flushed slightly as her breaths became more ragged, rapid puffs.

Kabuto had said that she was terribly low on chakra, thus already in the submissive state she's in now. I snorted in distaste, of course she is. When isn't she like this?

A scowl crossed my face as I looked over her figure, slender, long legs. Small fragile looking arms and a thin, fragile waist, normal for a girl of only eighteen.

"Sasuke, Are you alright?" Mocked Kabuto, too close for me for comfort. I scowled and turned from the unconscious girl, wanting her out of my sight and away from me as soon as possible.

"Why is she here?" I demanded, just wanting her to leave so I can be rid of these emotions she was surfacing, stupid Konoha ninja. Pitiful.

"This girl may be able to heal Lord Orochimaru. She's a fine asset to us, and if not, Lord Orochimaru could use her as a temporary vessel-"

My hands wrapped around his throat in pure fury, His eyes widening as he realized I was choking him, a scowl twisting my features as he looked up at me, a fearful, yet smug look in his eyes.

"She will **not** be a vessel." I growled on instinct… but, why?

Suddenly I released him, my face returning to it's usual blank irritated complexion as I shot glance back to Sakura, now breathing evenly on the operation table. Candlelight revealing her blood soaked form.

I don't know what just snapped.

I let out a sigh of air as I remembered _why _I was here, if he needed a vessel for a while to get stronger I didn't care. As long as I got my revenge nothing else mattered, not even old, annoying teammates.

Kabuto grumbled behind me, I heard the swirling of his medical chakra, and leaned casually against the wall. I watched as he pulled up the lower half of her familiar red zip-up shirt, revealing a large gash that was seemed to be the source of all the blood covering her, it appeared to be a stab wound, you could almost see completely through the wound, had there not been so much blood.

"What do you think happened to her?" I sighed, crossing my arms as Kabuto's glasses hid his eyes, he poked and prodded around her body for a while, assessing her wounds.

"Multiple stab wounds. She's been poisoned but I was able to flush the small amount left out of her system with a transfusion. It seems to be almost out of her system." He mumbled, it sounded like it was more to himself than me, but I shrugged, my eyes fixed on the slowly disappearing wound.

"What will you do with her if she refuses Orochimaru?"

A dark chuckle escaped Kabuto's lips as he wiped the blood from his hands, "Does it _really _matter to you, Sasuke? Here-" He laughed, tossing a white cloth to me.

"Clean her up and bring her to Lord Orochimaru when she wakes up."

I scowled as he disappeared through the doorway. I would protest to that weakling daring to give me an order but I felt an odd discomfort in allowing Kabuto the duty of cleansing her himself.

I scowled, pushing the odd anger back and staring down at Sakura, she really was a mess, although with the cuts and bruises clean she almost looked… appealing. She's surely matured since they were genin, but that was to be expected.

I wetted the white cloth in a bowl of lukewarm water before returning to the sleeping girl. I lifted her shirt slightly, wiping away the brownish dried and new blood from around the wound, arching my eyebrows in surprise as I realized how slim she was.

Her baggy clothing hid that factor, odd for Sakura. He remembered her appearance had been very important to her at one point. She had soft yet mature curves on waist, I ran my hand along her side, her waist was incredibly small, compared to her full hips.

I broke away from the thoughts threatening to surface. Finishing with wiping the blood from her body and turning to wipe the specks of dried blood and dirt from her cheeks.

Once she was clean I looked at her clothing, it was ruined. What did Kabuto expect me to do with her looking like this? They were falling off of her in shreds of dirty, tattered fabric.

I stepped out of the room, catching the attention of one of Orochimaru's lap dogs. A redheaded woman by the name of Karin.

"Sasuke-Kun!"

I swirled around and stepped to the side, just in time to dodge her awkward attempt at trying to wrap me in an uncomfortable embrace. She pouted and turned to me,sticking out her lower lip as if some kind of child, If she were worthy of my time , I'd kill the annoyance of a girl.

"Spare clothes. Get them." Was all I'd said before returning to the room where Sakura was, I rubbed my forehead.

Sakura was becoming a problem-

_Wait, What was that?_

I

spun around, a loud explosion could be heard from outside of the building, it shook the floor of the underground hideout violently.

I raced out the door, shielding my eyes from the heavy layer of black through the air. The hallways were full of smoke, As it started clearing I realized two figures were racing to me. I unsheathed my katana.

As one raced past me I sliced my katana through his arm, their large, broad figures made it obvious it was two males, although suddenly, the arm of the one I had just severed was being connected once again by what appeared to be... tendrils of some sort.

I snorted and activated my sharingan, it appeared to be two Akatsuki, one carrying a large triple bladed scythe, the other's face was half covered by a white cloth, his odd pink and green eyes were narrowed in my direction.

"Leave." I said flatly, casually running my finger down the blade of my katana, lightning sparking through it brightly,

"Ah, an Uchiha." The raspy voice of the half masked man barked, from his eyes I could tell he was grinning.

"Hn."

"C'mon Kakuzu, let's just get the fucking bitch and go." The silver haired man growled,

Were they talking about...Sakura?

"What business do you have with Sakura Haruno?" I questioned, placing a hand on my hip to stare at the odd-looking men.

"So that's her name? Damn, I just realized; I don't give a flying fuck, move aside fag." The silver haired man snorted.

Ignorant men like this were always the one's to die first, wasn't this the one who killed Asuma? He looked somewhat like he could put up a fight.

"I'm sorry, You can't have her."

The black tendrils wrapped around my wrist, attempting to make me drop my katana, I sighed and pulsed my chidori through it. forcing back the tendrils. I charged forward, with one quick swipe decapitating the masked Akatsuki.

I looked around and realized the second man was gone and turned on a heel to re-enter the room, the door now swung wide open.

"Ah Boy, don't turn your back on me, I don't take rejection well." The tendril man chuckled behind me, the black tendrils were coiled around my body and began squeezing harshly on my rib cage.

Using thin pulses of chakra to break through the bindings, only for them to be replaced an instant later by a secondary grouping on the annoying black limbs.

A sudden loud explosion sounded through the room behind me, smoke filling the air,

"Sakura!" I growled, entering the room once again, the ceiling was gone!

I

whipped around, prepared to demand the man where he was taking her; but he too was gone.

**Hidan.**

While the fucking kid was mouthing off to Kakuzu I snaked into the room like the amazing fucking man I am. Pein told me she had fucking pink hair, I mean, how could I have missed her.

Who the fuck has pink hair anyway? Was it a disease? What the fuck was wrong with-

There the bitch is! She was fucking asleep! Is she fucking retarded or something? Who the fuck falls asleep in-

Holy Jashin! What a sexy ass body! Fucking perfect round tits,tiny waist, perfect hips, full lips, and fucking damn when I had her in my arms, I swear I could feel how round and nice her ass was.

I shivered, she was fucking _mouth-watering. _I'd fucking love to cut this sexy cunt open, spill her blood everywhere. Oh this'll be fun!

I grinned and jumped through the ceiling and out into the clearing, Orochimaru must have been really fucking stupid to have left her un-fucking-attended while that fuckin' Uchiha brat, just as stuck up and girly lookin' as Itachi. I bed he couldn't even give this babe a good time. I mean… doubt that kid back there could take a fucking sword to the heart!

And damn did he look mad we were taking her, was she _his_ bitch? Nah, He wouldn't have had to kidnap her, unless that's what she's into or some shit.

"Hidan, You know it fucking costs a shit ton of money when we take this much time on a mission!" Snapped Kakuzu's tight ass.

I chuckled, "Does anything _not_ cost you fucking money?"

"Yeah! When you don't spend two fucking days looking for one fucking chick!"

"Well it wouldn't have taken that long if fucking Sasori could just bring her back like he was supposed to! Fucking Kazekage was a shitty motherfucking distraction anyway! You should have just used her fucking boyfriend back there! Fuckin' kid was gayer than Orochimaru! He'da probably followed me just to get a look ay my sexy self no kidnapping needed!" I laughed, jerking a thumb back in the direction of the hideout we had just blown up a sky fucking high.

"Just make sure we get her back in _one-piece_! I won't be patching your stupid ass up." He growled,

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, fucking tight ass."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx**

**Alright, I fixed most of the spelling mistakes in this one. Cleaned up the story a bit, I'll be making a few changes to the plot. When I first began writing this I didn't have a deadset ending so it's pretty messy so there WILL be changes in the plot of the original story but they won't be too big. **

**Love always,**

**Sakura-Centric**


	2. Chapter 2

**Rouge**

**Chapter Two; What Am I Supposed To Do?**

**Sakura.**

"_Sakura? Where are you!"_

_That voice… Who was it… It sounded to familiar…_

"_Sakura! We'll protect you, please just tell us where you are!"_

_Ah, That was Naruto, protect me from what? What did I need protecting from?_

_Suddenly a dim light cut through the blackness of my dream, almost like a spot light, Sasuke walked into it, his arms wide, as if open for me to embrace him, I could only stand there and watch, _

_Slowly his smile faded, and he dropped his arms, his face slowly turning to a scowl, the light disappeared, leaving me in the black once again, _

_Now three lights lit up the blackness, Three spotlights… five figures…_

_Naruto and Hinata, smiling, his hands clutching her to his frame, "You were always stronger than Sakura, I love you." He whispered to her, _

_A blow straight to my heart, she was always stronger than me… _

_The next was Sasuke and a woman with crimson hair and odd glasses, His hands running through her hair, which appeared neat and brushed on one side, spiked and messy on the other, my heart wretched as I saw the loving look in his eyes, _

"_I wouldn't leave you, You were strong enough to stay with me, unlike that pink haired girl from my old village… What was her name?" He whispered, _

_My heart crumbled, tears welling my eyes as I was barley able to look into the last spotlight, there was a man standing there… _

_My eyes widened at the sight, he had silver hair, and his chest was bare, showing extremely toned eight-pack abs, blood splattered across him, a terrifyingly sexy smile plastered to his face, his pinkish eyes boring into me, _

_He stepped forward, outstretching a hand to me, "Hey bitch, C'mere. I'll protect you."_

_Besides the coarse language I found myself stumbling towards him, _

"_Traitor."_

"_Slut."_

"_Go ahead, it's not like he'd ever want you, weakling."_

_The voices of those who I considered to be my friends rang through my head, but this man's face kept drawing me in, more and more, my hand touched his, _

_It was like electricity._

"_Who are you-"_

I gasped and my eyes flew open, freezing water blurred my vision, it entered my nose and mouth, causing deep alarm to shoot through me, I breathed out, water filling my mouth, I felt the fist clenching tightly into my hair.

Suddenly I was yanked out of the cold water by my hair, I didn't have time to regain my usual level-headed composure that I had during missions, so I did the first thing that popped into my mind; I screamed,

Yes; screamed, loud and terrified, my body trembling slightly from the dripping wet clothes that now clung to my form due to the freezing water I was just plunged into,

"Scream all you want bitch. You're lucky I'm bathing you at all, but Jashin knows you fucking needed it, Sasori banged you the fuck up, I mean- Blood and fucking dirt everywhere."

That voice… I froze, my eyes started to clear in vision, stinging slightly from the water that ailed them earlier, It was the white haired man, My eyes widened… And without thinking I forgot that he had just tried to drown me, or that his fist was still twisted into my hair, and I outstretched a hand, running my fingers gently over the skin on his cheek for e brief moment…

"Am I dreaming?" I whispered,

Suddenly his face flashed from surprise to amusement as his eyes scanned over my body, I yanked back my hand, surprised that I reacted like that. I slowly regained composure, scowling at the white haired man,

"What the fuck is your problem now? Bitch you were all eager to touch me earlier, what the fuck happened now _sugar, _ are you not pleased by your new fucking husband?" He sneered, his fist tightening in my hair painfully, causing me to gasp angrily,

"Wha-What are you doing! Where am I?" I choked out, my voice coarse from the water that was in my lungs. I coughed painfully, I needed to quit smoking,

A smile crossed his face and he released me, I fell painfully onto my knees in the freezing water, I was in a black marble bathtub, bloody water beneath me from what I figured he considered my 'bath',

"You can pretty much call this place home, bitch." He laughed, his eyes boring into me as he sneered,

I felt the anger boil beneath my veins, This man must be out of his fucking mind, there was no way in fucking hell I would be staying here, wherever it was that I was…

I groaned at the horrible soreness in my sword wound causing me to clutch painfully at my side, "You're out of your fucking mind." I growled through my pain, my scowl turning to a sickening grin as the man irked an eyebrow,

"Am I? Because according to an agreement you mine, bitch." He spat, I could see the distaste in his eyes as he once again looked over my soaking form,

In an instant I was attempting to jump past him, but once again he caught my hair painfully, another gasp escaping my lips, he yanked me backwards, forcing me too look at him, a sick grin playing on his lips,

"I expected a woman, not a fucking teenage heathen, but maybe you'll develop a little before we get married," He laughed, causing my face to flush with anger, who the fuck did he think he was?

"I'd never marry you, fucking freak!" I spat fearlessly,

A sharp pain in my scalp caused me to jerk again painfully, "Listen here bitch, You can either make this easy for me, in which case I'll play fucking nice, or I can become your worst nightmare." He growled,

An angered chuckle escaped my lips, Yeah, this man was definitely out of his mind, I scowled and threw a punch to his gut, obviously he wasn't prepared for the sheer force of the chakra infused blow, although it normally would have shot through his abdomen it only knocked him back several feet,

But in that time I had made it past him and into a bedroom of some sorts, It had a four-post bed with dark mahogany wood for the frame, white and black silk sheets tossed messily on top of it, dark black marble shining brightly was for the floors and ceilings, but what caused me distress was the Akatsuki cloak resting on the end of the bed,

I was low on chakra still,

I growled and jumped in the direction of the doorway, realizing it was locked I simply kicked it to shattered pieces of dark wood, splintering and falling to the floors, I was soon in a dark hallway, candles the only light offering me as I ran out into the halls, trying frantically to find an escape,

Suddenly I was yanked back forcefully, I growled and kicked and screamed at him, I was slung over his shoulder, him attempting to walk me back to that godforsaken room,

"Get your fucking hands off me you freak!" I screamed, jerking backwards only to fall painfully on my ass.

Slowly he turned around, a hand on his hip as he peered down at me, "Bitch, I don't feel like hurting you, Madara wants you in one piece so your stupid fucking bloodline can keep going, So if you will_; Get your motherfucking ass_ back in _our _bedroom."

"You're obviously delusional." I spat, rubbing my aching tailbone, scowling at the man over me, he was insane. In-SANE, what the fuck was he talking about, kids and bullshit, He's never even met me,

I rolled my eyes, This was obviously some ploy to try and get me to reveal Naruto's… Well I'm not sure what they wanted me to say… Weaknesses? Or some shit like that, was I bait?

"I won't let you freaks have Naruto." I spat, his fist tangled in my hair once again as he yanked me to my feet, "We don't want him. Madara decided your more of a liability," He grumbled, yanking me by my dripping clothing back to the bedroom of horrors,

It was obvious I wasn't going anywhere, The Akatsuki was here, and from what I read in files while working with Tsunade there was way too many of them to even hope for escape,

Yet.

I would never give up, I would never fall down, or stumble,

This time I would be strong enough, strong enough to stand on my own two feet!

Soon we were yanked back into his room, he dropped me to the floor, I landed painfully on my side, Groaning, I propped myself up to scowl at the white haired man who was searching through a large black dresser,

"alright bitch, Lemme' see what I've got that will fit your scrawny ass." He mumbled, obviously to himself.

"My name, fucking idiot, Is Sakura, Sa-Ku-Ra, not bitch." I scowled,

He ignored my comment as he threw an obviously oversized black t-shirt at me, I lifted it before my eyes, my eyebrows risen, There was no way he honestly believed I would wear his clothing!

"You can wear it, or freeze, bitch." He sighed, stepping into a rather large closet, returning with several odd looking weapons juggled into his arms, caked in dried blood, My eyes softened, He was going to torture me,

Or kill me,

I was hoping for the second answer. Death would be better than watching my friends die before my eyes because the Akatsuki would get Naruto,

Instantly I knew my life would mean nothing anyway, what use would I be to anyone otherwise? I was nothing but a nuisance, Ino would take over my place at the hospital, Hinata would take my place in Naruto's heart, Sasuke didn't care either way, and it's not like I had a family to go back to…

A saddening frown tugged at my lips, I wouldn't cry, I was well off that stage of my life, I hadn't cried in years, I needed to be strong, but what was the use? I didn't possess anything special like Naruto or Sasuke…

And I wasn't even able to bring myself to use my bloodline because I was such a coward, but did it really make me a coward not to want to use such a dangerous and deadly jutsu?

"Bitch you need to lighten the fuck up, It's not that bad." Sighed the white haired man, I blushed suddenly when I realized what he was doing, he was just cleaning off the utensils,

"Why do you want me? I'm nothing special, and I refuse to sit here and be bait-"

"Your not bait for anyone. Your promised to me, bitch, Calm the fuck down, Jashin your rambling annoys the fuck outta' me." He grumbled, he was paying intense attention to a triple bladed scythe,

I growled, ready to tell this man what he was exactly the way I felt like doing it; by beating the fuck out of this creepy bastard, but his words caught me off guard,

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, unsure of what he meant by 'promised', My parents never told me about-

Of coarse they didn't, they died when I was seven after all…

"Your old hag of a grandmother lost to my grandfather in a gambling match, Since they both had grown children that were already wed, My mother and father already expecting my birth, She promised her granddaughter to me, Being of the 'mighty Haruno Clan' or some stupid shit, I didn't even want to waste my fucking time on you after I found out that old hag had thrown you into the fucking leaf village, but Pein convinced me you weren't just some fucking useless heathen."

I snorted, That old bitch would do something like that. I mean, after my parents died she just couldn't wait to get rid of me, but like hell was I going to just sit back and fucking kneel to this cruel man,

"I don't care, You might as well kill me now, I won't help you get Naruto, I won't be your 'bride' or whatever the fuck YOU wanna' call it, I think it's considered a hostage, but your mind must be messed up, So I'll play along, although I will escape, or die trying." I hissed.

"Bitch, You've got me confused with someone who's actually intimidated by your little ass. I suggest you sit down and shut the fuck up, damn. I mean, I thought you cared about the Kyubi kid-"

"What about Naruto?" I cried, they were going to hurt him, did they have him now?

"Well, since you're here Madara doesn't care whatever the fuck the Kyubi wants to do, because we have you, but if you wanna' die, I can arrange that; Bitch." He sneered,

My hands shook, For once I was given the chance to keep Naruto safe… For once I could do something useful. I could help- I frowned, but at the cost of my freedom, but saving the life of Naruto would be worth it, he would do the same for me,

My head lowered and I sighed, my bangs falling over my eyes, I was grateful for it to hide the pathetic look on my face, I would be strong, strong enough to deal with this until Naruto could save me, and how pathetic that was….

I've been relying on him for almost five years now, no matter how much I tried to play it off; It was always him and Sasuke, protecting me,

My eyes felt dulled, I realized the silence in the room, Slowly my eyes traveled up, a small hopeless blush lighting my pale cheeks as my eyes rested on the tall, shirtless man before me, deep black stitching going around his throat… Although it didn't look disgusting like I would have thought it would be… It looked like a tattoo almost… dark and sexy…

I shook the thoughts away and tore my eyes from his toned chest, my eyes flickering to his face, but the knowing smirk caused me to look away, why was he standing so close… I squirmed backwards on the dark marble floors, almost freezing to the touch,

"Here." He said, he almost sounded kind, well… considering that's the first time he didn't call me bitch, or scream at me, he tossed the oversized black shirt in my direction, I took it, actually glad to have some piece of dry clothing, I was sure my lips were blue I was so cold,

I blushed, "Can I… Can you please-"

"Don't push your luck bitch, I can't just let you run wild, Sorry to tell you, but I'm going to be watching you every moment of the day, But trust me, I have no interest in seeing what's under those clothes." He sighed, taking a seat on the edge of his bed, resting his head on in his palm,

I tightened my clutch on the shirt, anger causing my hands to tremble, I wasn't some test specimen, he was lucky I was even willing to be submissive to his motherfucking behavior, if he was anyone else, and we were anyone else I would have punched him through the fucking wall.

I felt the scowl play on my lips, I raised my head fearlessly, my eyes meeting directly with the white haired man's, "I am a person, I am not a test for which you can manipulate to become what you desire, I am dangerous, I will not hesitate to kill you, I am intelligent, I will find a way out of here without putting Naruto in jeopardy, I am _heartless_, _I'll kill you in the most merciless way imaginable._"

I almost flinched at the last words, Inner had taken over for a moment, I needed to get better control on my behavior, I was stressed and anxiety-stricken, my head wasn't clear right now so I wasn't maneuvering things right,

I needed to think of a plan,

I clenched my teeth, I couldn't do anything anytime soon, My best chance was to sit back and wait for Naruto, although that would never happen if-

I felt a cool hand on my face, and clenched my teeth, stepping back, "Don't touch me." I growled through clenched teeth,

A smirk appeared on his face, "You're really as fucking stubborn as you were said to be bitch. I'm going to have to break that."

I felt my fists tighten, water dripping from my soaked fingerless gloves,

He would never break me,

I ignored his sigh and stares as I made my way into the bathroom, removing my water logged clothes as they fell to the floor, water seeping across the floor, I shivered as the freezing are touched my soaked bare skin,

I threw over the large shirt, leaving all of my soaking clothes on the floor, besides my bra and underwear. I would have liked to leave my clothes on, but I knew hypothermia could happen do to this freezing house and my soaked clothing,

I heard angered tapping on the marble floors as the man waited for me outside the door, I let out a sigh and mustered up all my bravery, the long shirt brushing my mid-thigh's as I calmly entered the room, being sure he couldn't sense fear in the slightest,

I wouldn't allow this man to ever think of me as weak or easily broken.

**Hidan**

I smirked at the pink haired bitch, the shirt I had given her hid her curves, but her long slender legs were shown proudly, she looked calm.

I knew it was an act though, bitch doesn't want me to know how scared she really is.

I let out a small sigh, running a ringer over the end of one of the three blades on my scythe, letting it easily slice the pad of my index finger I stood, Seeing the alarmed face on the kunoichi I smirked wider,

She looked feisty as hell, I would have a fun time breaking that in her, although it would be almost sad to see that sexy glint in her eyes to disappear, She would be a fighter indeed,

I sighed and rolled off the bed, I needed to go sacrifice many for Jashin's wonderful gift to me, This pink haired bitch.

**Sasuke**

I stood over the body of Orochimaru, lifeless. Easily dealt with, he was becoming to weak to even become useful to me, and Sakura-

I snorted, She wouldn't do anything but make him weaker as his vessel.

I looked back, the group of members I was taking I was going to allow to join me as my teammates, a larger man named Jugo, strong from what I could tell, a white haired man who was contained with Orochimaru's experiments, and the redheaded tracker; Karin, who believe me, I loathed having to take with me.

I sighed and walked past the group, as we slowly descended from the building,

"Here I come Itachi."

**Naruto**

"Naruto-San?"

I twirled around to see Hinata staring at me in some odd way, boy did she blush a lot, I wander if she's sick.

"Yeah?" I asked, noticing the others bent over panting, what was their problem? We'd only been walking for a few hours, we didn't have time to loose! They had Sakura!

"Naruto, We are exhausted, even Akimaru, We need to- to stop." Panted Ino, I could tell by the flush on her face she was exhausted, they were all breathing heavily, I groaned and spun around to face them head-on,

"We're going to find her! We can't stop! Ever!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**End of this chapter, the next one will be a time skip, alright? **

**Just making sure you all know ahead of time. **

**~WinterPants~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Rouge**

**Chapter Three; The New Akatsuki Blossom**

**_Time Skip; Two years later_. **

**Sakura**

I sighed. My shoulder was aching terribly, and I didn't have the chakra to heal it at the moment, currently Kakuzu was carrying me on his back while we searched for parts of Hidan.

"How bad could Shikamaru have torn him up Kaku?" I panted, my shoulder burning with terrible pain, I could tell we were getting close, I could hear Hidan's muffled growls, Fucking leaf village bastards; Did they really think chopping up Hidan would kill him?

I rolled my eyes, _of coarse they did._

"Here we are." Grunted Kakuzu, setting me carefully onto the ground, raising a palm as a sharp looking black tendril shot out, and then resurfaced, it was wrapped around one of Hidan's arms,

He tossed it to me and I laid it on my lap while I started healing my shoulder, knowing I was low on chakra but I needed to start healing it or the muscle wouldn't heal the same, Fucking Kurenai; always spoiling our fun.

I smirked beneath the long paper folds that hung from my Akatsuki hat, hiding my face completely, They had all presumed me to be dead, Hell, I would too after two years in the Akatsuki.

As the wound healed I let out a groan of happiness, It felt so much better, I jumped up, a little wobbly from loss of chakra, but still able to walk,

"Alright, let's do this." I grinned, clasping my hands together in anticipation, earning a slight chuckle from Kakuzu, I never knew why he had such a bad rep, he was a close friend of mine, although he was a cheap-ass, he was always kind to me,

"Eager aren't we?" He rasped, I just chuckled and ignored him,

We spent hours finding and reattaching Hidan's body parts, and even if someone happened to be nearby or in our line of vision they wouldn't see us, instantly they would see blank woods, untouched thanks to Ita-San's genjustu.

Soon Hidan was fully reattached, groaning as he stood, I could hear the distinct cracks and pops of sore unused bone and muscle as he stretched, soon his eyes fell on me and Kakuzu, giving us a wide toothy grin,

"Took you fuckers long enough."

My jaw dropped, "We just spend like fucking three hours finding your immortal ass in this godforsaken village!"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Ah Shit, I'm just glad to be out of there, I'll taste fucking dirt for months after this!"

I chuckled and reached around, grasping Hidan's triple bladed scythe which was tied criss-crossed over my own weapon of choice, a large sword, familiar to Zabuza's, although the blade was crimson, with Hidan's religious symbol edged into the blade. It was wrapped tightly in black bindings at the moment,

"Thanks bitch." He grinned, taking his precious scythe back into his hand. I rolled my eyes, used to his rude language in my presence, I came to think of Hidan as almost a friend, even if he was an asshole.

I recently started using my bloodline as well, So Madara-Sama placed me on a team with the 'Zombie brothers' or should I say triplets now, all unable to die, well… Mostly. I knew Kakuzu had to replace the hearts stored on his back, although he didn't show them much,

I sighed and played with the long strands of paper swaying in the wind from my hat, grateful for their hiding my face, but sometimes I wanted Konoha to know I was alive, to know I was still living and breathing the same air as those bastards,

I scowled, they had looked for me for a single month, and then given up, how long had we looked for Sasuke? Five years? And for him to come waltzing back into the village with the redheaded woman not even a year ago, acting as If nothing had happened at all sickened me.

"Hime, you need to calm down." Kakuzu said, placing a hand on my shoulder in concern

I let out a sigh, knowing the crimson glow from my irises' were visible through the papers in the darkness of the night, I slowly re-gained composure, although it only slowly added wood to the fire of my burning hate for this village,

"Know what'll make you feel better? Let's go destroy you're fucking 'grave'! Immortals baby! We reign supreme!" Hidan Laughed, draping arms over mine and Kakuzu's shoulders, a wide grin on his face,

My nose crinkled and I pushed him away, "Hidan, You smell like dirt."

"No shit bitch, I was buried for like a motherfucking week you assholes, I'm _starving._" He groaned, clutching his stomach in emphasis, it's not like I blamed him, I mean, none of us technically needed to eat, although it would cause slight fatigue and cramps after a few weeks.

"I kinda' want to take up that offer on destroying my grave," I said flatly, staring into the distance, Shikamaru's house was nearby, considering we were in the Nara forest.

"Sakura… I don't know…" Mumbled Kakuzu, I could tell by the density in his shoulder blades he was thinking of all the ways that could go wrong.

I sighed, "I need to do this, If I can't attack the village for now, Just give me this one small gift, I am dying to have the heads of my friends hanging by their hair in the dungeon, considering Madara won't allow me that luxury, Just let me destroy that pitiful grave they gave in my 'honor'." I spat, venom dripping from every word.

A tired sigh escaped his lips, over the years I had been working with him he watched my hatred for the leaf progress to this once family files and documents had been recovered, My admiration and loyalty quickly turned to hatred and disgust; They had used me simply as a weapon of war and destruction, this was a corrupt world, the five nations on the brink of war, and the Akatsuki was going to play a major role in that;

We were going to cleanse the world, Kill off the elder councils, leaving the five nations to be molded into a more peaceful accepting place, no one would be used, there would be no ninja, no more deaths and destruction,

My skin crawled and I shook away the thoughts, I hated the memories that scorched my brain,

"Fine. Hidan, Go with her, I'm going to go find Itachi, keep quiet." He warned sternly, earning sighs and nods from me and Hidan, who seemed to be known to make a racket with anything we did.

Soon we were parting our ways, me and Hidan teleporting in a swirl of Sakura, (My doing) to the sight where my grave stone was located,

I snorted, "Look Hidan, they left me some flowers."

I looked over the sight before me, a large white stone grave, under a large Sakura tree, bare of blossoms due to the cold winter air, bouquets of flowers all around, some fresh some crumbling with age,

Obviously they had never found my body, so the grave was more a sight for remembrance than anything else; it sickened me to see,

"You didn't even look for me." I growled, with one sharp kick to the center of the stone it broke in half with a harsh crack. The anger surfacing painfully, I could hear Hidan's soft chuckles as he sat himself in one of the high branches of the tree casually,

I didn't care what he was doing really, I was angered and joyous at the rush of destroying the small symbol of peace that the 'teammates' and 'friends' of mine took closure in, pretending like it wasn't their fault I ended up the way I was,

It was their entire fault, if they would have searched a little harder; they could have found me and taken me home…

I smirked, my fists in a blur as they pounded the white marble into a pile of rubble, almost considered sand.

I stood and wiped the specks of blood that had flown from my fists and splattered onto the alabaster skin of my cheeks. I spat on the pile of white sand, disgusted,

"Hidan get down from the tree!" I growled, it came out as one word, blurred together by anger and the sharp rush to my head, I yanked the large sword from my back, it would be extremely heavy for anyone besides myself, and it took chakra just to lug the gigantic sword around with me,

With one swipe I cut through the large trunk, a loud rumble and crack as it fell to the ground, branches snapping as it fell over the piles of flowers and limbs broke, I grinned, it was a much more presentable grave now, one that truly honored my existence;

"Wow, That was fucking awesome, I never could understand why you wasted chakra carrying that fucking thing, but DAMN, one cut and this thick ass tree is gone! Shit, you're growing into a beautiful woman!" Hidan grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a father-like hug,

Although his comment was meant to be joking it boosted my pride,

"Sakura?"

I froze, my muscled flexing and becoming tighter at the voice, I spun around, gripping the edge of my papery hat with an index and thumb, bowing slightly and pressing the papery hat to my chest in a mock bow.

"At your service, however did you recognize me?" I said lazily, pulsing my black chakra into the hat.

In an instant it turned to ash and fell to the ground before me, Hidan was chuckling and staring at the Inuzuka, Who's mouth was hung open in surprise, I knew damn well how he found me, and I wasn't concerned in the least.

"I-I could smell your scent… Like-"

"Cherry Blossoms." Hidan finished with a smirk, protectively taking a step in front of me, I sighed and crossed my arms, not really in the mood for a fight with the kid, but figuring Hidan wouldn't pass up the chance to sacrifice as quickly as he could.

I could tell by the look on the brown haired boy's face he wasn't thinking the smartest of things, so I stepped forward, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth,

"I wouldn't consider running if I were you."

Suddenly I watched his hands clench, the familiar smell of fear and sweat in the air, I could tell by the animalistic urge building up in my chest my eyes had become alive with glowing crimson, lighting up my face,

They appeared like a cat's eyes, the cat-like pupil in the center of the glowing crimson color, I licked my lips with anticipation,

"Sakura- I- We just… Naruto- He was looking for you- Dead, You were-"

"Does it look like I'm dead? Ah hell I must look worse than I thought I did," I mocked, I was trying to play it off like I was perfectly calm, but everything inside of me was holding back the inner animal that was about to rip the boy to shreds for the sheer fun of it,

My fingers twitching an anticipation as I watched the fear in his eyes intensify, he took a step back, I could tell by the movement of his abdomen he was going to run, It took everything I had to push back the urge to attack, I could hear Hidan step forward, I could practically feel the bloodlust radiating from his skin, I lashed out a hand, stopping him in his tracks,

"Go and tell them Sakura is back." I yelled in the direction of the Inuzuka, who was disappearing in the direction of the inner village,

"How merciless of you, hurting all of those people!" Hidan cried in such sarcastic sympathy, I watched it turn to an evil glint as he grabbed me by my shoulder and yanked me to him, wrapping his arms around my waist before we both disappeared in a cloud of black smoke,

**Naruto**

"Teme! I'm hungry! Can we hurry!" I whined loudly, knowing damn well how much it irritated Sasuke, but my stomach was in knots with hunger, I was going to _die_ if I didn't eat sooooooon.

"Shut up Dobe, I have to wait for Karin." He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets, I hmph'd and turned away from him, arms crossed childishly, although the anger didn't falter, I was never able to understand how he was able to be with this woman if he couldn't even stay with Sakura-

My heart clenched at her name, Kami I missed her so much… I knew she was dead, the Akatsuki haven't even been heard from for two years, and after a month she was declared dead,

It hurt so much to hear… Even that robot Sai seemed to mope for a few months; I couldn't help but feel responsible…

We didn't look hard enough… We weren't fast enough…

I felt my fists tighten at the tears threatened to spill over,

And Sasuke was able to- To move on like nothing ever happened, he wouldn't even talk about her, It felt like he had forgotten she had ever existed… And now… He wouldn't even have the decency to visit her grave with us,

I looked at the redheaded woman with hate, pure unsheathed hate, I had a horrible feeling about this woman, she was annoying,

And I Naruto Uzumaki, knew annoying when I saw it,

She wasn't even in the same league as Sakura in strength, or medical Ninjutsu, and don't even get me started on looks and class,

Sakura was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen,

And this- This woman Sasuke has replaced her with… She was nothing compared to her, she was whiney and clingy, and rather ugly,

I let out a small sigh; There was nothing to even be upset about anymore… She was gone…

"Sasuke-Kun!"

I groaned, I hated bringing that annoying bitch around with us, Since she is the 'newest' member of team seven, fucking bullshit…

Sometimes I missed Sai, Hell, I'd rather have him over her annoying butt,

Sasuke wrapped an arm around her rather chunky waist, I rolled my eyes, grumbling in irritation to my dying stomach,

Soon Ichiraku came into view, but something alarmed me, There was a huge crowd of people there, even some medics, Jonin, and other nin who I had never seen just walking around the village,

I sprinted up to the crowd, distinct screams and murmurs were heard thought the village, I found Ino stumbling around the outside, the look on her face put me at unease, her eyes wide and lips trembling,

I placed a hand on her shoulder, "What's going on?"

She raised her head, her eyes watery with tears, "Sakura- She- Not dead…" Ino was mumbling her words, obviously shaken, she couldn't possibly mean-

I instantly jolted in the direction of the crowd, Was Sakura really back? After all this time she was back!

The happy tears on my face spilled as I pushed through the crowd,

My smile faded as I saw Kiba was standing in the center, clutching his heart, his breathing wild, I instantly stood over him, outstretching my arms to push back the pressing crowd of nin that was surrounding him, "Get Back, Get Back, Let the man breathe!"

I turned to kneel onto a knee, Kiba was in pure shock, his hands trembling, "What happened Kiba?" I growled, the unusual seriousness taking over my voice,

Slowly he rose his eyes to stare into mine, his hands clutched desperately at my shirt, almost like he was falling, looking for something to hold on to,

"Naruto, She- She's changed, her scent- I- I found her… The grave… She destroyed it- Her scent is intoxicating- Dark, She- Her chakra-… Chakra is black- Akatsuki- She is a traitor…"

And with that he fell to the ground, collapsed in unconsciousness,

My hands trembled and I pried him off me, my spiky blond bangs hiding my eyes,

I pushed past the crowd of medic nin who were now attempting to get to Kiba, I didn't give a shit if he died right then and there,

Sakura was alive…

And that fucking- He had the nerve to call her a traitor… After everything she's done… I didn't see anyone else removing his poison when he was brought to the infirmary dying… Ungrateful bastard.

Soon I was at the back of the crowd, where Sasuke was standing casually, arms crossed as he bore holes into me with his stare, my hands trembled ferociously as the anger burned in me,

"Sakura's back." I growled, pushing past him, my shoulder hitting his harshly as I made my way to the Akatsuki tower,

She was alive,

That was all I needed to lift the horrible guilt from my shoulders…

I could save her,

And nothing would stop me this time.

**Sasuke**

I paced my apartment, considering the fact that Tsunade wouldn't allow me to have the compound until the council came to a decision considering the compound was in Itachi's name, and the psychological problems they believed it would cause me or some shit,

I growled and ran my hands through my hair, wanting to yank it out if anything,

_She_ was back…

I growled and slammed my fist into the wall, busting a hole in the plaster,

_She_… I had _just_ gotten over _her_ death…

I scowled; I couldn't even say her name, why… Why did she have to come back, It hurt more to think of the things they had done to her, death was the only peace I could hope for at the moment…

They have been torturing her for two years…

Why did the Inuzuka seem so shaken? What had he seen?

I scowled, there was no way they could find her, and we spent a year looking for them, and couldn't even find a trace, not even with Karin, the pitiful excuse for a 'tracker'

I had made a huge mistake, it was always about _her_, always, it never changed, all of the wasted time; I would have left after I had trained in Konoha if I didn't want to hurry and kill my brother, to come back to her, raise a family…

But after her death… Nothing had meaning anymore,

Revenge meant nothing,

Life meant nothing,

In loneliness and guilt I tried to break away from her, from the pain, wanting desperately to forget, Even trying to imagine Karin as her, but she would never even come close,

And no matter how much I lied to myself, I fell in love with her more every single day, loved her more every single day…

I sucked in a pained breath, shaky and weak, "Sak-"

My eyes clutched shut in pain, "Sakura!" I screamed out, my body trembling in painful memories.

**Ino**

Sakura was alive,

Sakura was alive,

Alive,

Alive,

Sakura…

Was alive.

My hands trembled… No fucking way was this happening now… She was going to be found, everything I had worked so fucking hard for ruined, everything, She would waltz back in here like nothing ever happened…

And- And Tsunade-Sama would take her back… The Oh-So-Mighty Sakura… Whom all of _my_ medical staff respected so fucking much, but no… I was nothing to them,

My fists trembled in anger, I hated her- I always have.

She stole everything from me,

Sasuke,

I should have been on team seven, I should have been top of the class… I should have started training with the Hokage first…

It all should have been me,

And- And the stronger she got… Every day stronger and stronger…

I always felt like she was hiding something, she acted oddly to her 'parents' I followed her home, hiding in the shadows to see what it was that set me on edge, anything to prove to me that my instincts weren't jealousy,

I watched as she trained everyday, getting better and better- better than me…

I always held my bloodline over her… Although when she learned medical Ninjutsu… I needed that edge too, I would never loose to forehead, Never again,

I scowled, I hated her,

I hated her,

I hated her,

Why did she always have to lean on me so much if she was so strong, huh? I snorted, why was I so worked up? She was nothing compared to me anymore,

I was beautiful and strong, stronger than her,

Better,

Faster,

Stronger.

"Good luck catching up, forehead."

**Karin **

I sighed and fell back onto my bed, Sasuke-Kun was acting weird tonight, I mean, all it was is that pink haired chick was back,

I sighed, I remembered her from after what happened to Danzo, when Sasuke accidently hit me with his chidori, Accidently!

He even said so; Sasuke-Kun loved me,

Besides, she wasn't a woman, she was a child, Sasuke would never fall for her… Would he?

**No way!**

**Hinata**

I smiled, folding my hands over my lap,

I was happy when I head the news, Naruto-San would be happy, a small frown tugged at my lips, He always blamed himself so much for her death…

A small sigh came from across the table and my head shot up in alarm, my eyes found Neji sitting gracefully, his eyes boring into me,

I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat,

"I can't believe it." He said flatly, I frowned and fidgeted with my fingers uncomfortably, Neji-San was always so seriously,

"I mean- He wasn't lying when he said she was back, but it's odd that she was so alarmed, I mean, Sakura was never strong or anything, I guess the Akatsuki have been holding her captive all this time… Strange if you ask me." He shrugged, sipping the tea I had prepared moments before,

I nodded and sighed,

Once you thought about it for a long time; It was weird,

What had they done to her over all these years?

**Shikamaru**

I growled, He was gone…

The fucker who killed Asuma-Sensei was gone… Without a trace, how had that happened? I had ninja constantly watching the area, not a single Akatsuki could have possibly-

Fuck, I smacked my hand to my forehead,

It was a strong genjustu,

One only Itachi Uchiha could have kept up so long without it being traced at all.

"That explains Sakura's appearance after all this time…" I mumbled,

I couldn't help but wander why they hadn't killed her, I mean, I liked the girl just fine, decently pretty, strong, nice from what I could tell, short tempered…

Although I couldn't wander why they didn't kill her… Or why they had taken her to retrieve him, here of all places, having her here- It would be a horrible decision,

Why didn't she try to run? To contact us?

Nothing was adding up, my mind was too fogged by sheer anger,

I could tell things would all make sense soon, I needed to calm down, I wouldn't make the right decisions and conclusions if I couldn't think straight.

**Kakashi**

I sighed beneath my mask, I knew when Kurenai had come to me telling me she had sensed an Akatsuki nearby that I should have came along with her, although she had injured a smaller woman's shoulder,

I scratched my silver hair in thought, I distinctively remember the Akatsuki consisting of ten members, all men in exception of one woman, although the other two figures weren't hidden, why her?

I sighed and toyed with the small orange book in my hands, unable to think straight,

I knew if I pieced things together I wouldn't like the outcome, although it was obviously right before my eyes,

"Sakura is in the Akatsuki, no longer willingly, and she is traveling with Asuma's killer…" I mumbled in the dark secrecy of my own bedroom,

I hoped it was anything besides that…

**Tsunade**

I frowned, my eyebrows creasing almost painfully as I watched the Uzumaki leave my office, he had been here for hours,

I had talked to the Inuzuka after waking up from his shocked state, from what I gathered He was going to visit Sakura's grave when he smelled her scent, following it his sensitive senses picked up her aura, which was one of 'the darkest he had ever felt' as he said,

I rubbed my aching temples,

Three Akatsuki were seen earlier, leaving Kurenai I bloody mess, although not dead, horribly injured, but spared.

She identified them as Kakuzu and Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki, as well as I smaller more womanly figure, from what Kurenai could tell by the tightness of her cloak, her face was hidden the entire time but Kurenai was able to tear her shoulder ligaments with a swipe of her kunai,

And then this- this whole business about Sakura's appearance.

I didn't want to believe it, I wanted to think she was being held captive, but- but I couldn't look over the facts before my face,

Something had changed in Sakura, something that terrified the Inuzuka boy,

"Sakura… Please tell me you're still you…"

**Hidan**

I grumbled as I excited the shower, walking back into my bedroom, Fucking bitch was asleep already, I stood there a moment just looking over her, her soft gentile breathing, she looked so _comfortable_ here with me,

"Dumb Heathen." I snorted,

She had however grown increasingly beautiful… Earning an even slimmer waist, womanly hips that swayed sexily when she walked, her tits where fucking perfect, looking delicious and insanely perky,

Her hair had grown longer, past her mid-back, it was precisely at the area her elbows were, she wore it in a high pony tail most of the time though, but she looked best when it was down like this,

I never did understand why she would call me a pervert in every comment I made toward her (Fucking Sexy) ass, when she let me sleep in the same bed as her,

Although it wasn't as… Intimate as I would have liked, Sakura usually just passed out and left the room as soon as she woke up, or showered, whatever the fuck she felt like doing at the time,

The arranged marriage had been put on hold, and over the years the determined glint in her eyes intensified with her hate for that fucking village of hers.

I dropped the towel that was once wrapped around my waist, walking nakedly through my room, or should I say our room, She never considered this a relationship, neither did I really, but I could feel myself getting used to the bitch,

I smirked, pulling on only a pair of loose fitting black sleep pants, the cool air felt nice to my constantly burning body, if my room would be any warmer I'd burn alive, Sakura always complained about how cold it was,

Although I fucking loved it when she'd come over to me and press her sexy body against mine,

Shit it wasn't love, just an attraction, but trust me it wasn't just me, She would shamelessly sneak peaks on my blood splattered chest when I came back from sacrifices sweaty and bloody.

I slid into the bed next to the sleeping girl, her soft breaths turning to a mumble as she scooted towards me, her ass pressed right onto my dick in one of the hottest fucking ways…

I suppressed a groan and tried to close my eyes to sleep,

Yeah, This wasn't fucking going to happen anytime soon, I'd been 'sleeping' for a weak in fucking dirt.

I was restless, and wanted this fucking girl to bend over so I could fuck her brains out, how long was a guy expected to endure this torture before he snapped?

I smirked, "Well any guy isn't me…"

I felt her mumble and toss, flipping so her perky breasts were pressed against me, I could see straight down her tight white tank-top, I looked down to a perfect nipple, wanting desperately to run my tongue over it,

"Mhn… Hida…"

My eyes widened at that fucking sleeping mumbling she did ever night, although I never really listened… Why was she dreaming about me?

I groaned, It's not like I give a fuck, she's my property and nothing else,

"Fucking bitch." I mumbled, throwing a pillow over my face, not wanting to smell the constant cherry blossom scent she dragged every fucking where she went.

I never realized how tired she made me,

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Just telling you all what everyone thought about her return, the questions will all be answered in her dreams and flashbacks, some dark themes, but love and strength overpower that in the end. **

**~WinterPants~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Rouge**

**Chapter Four; Scars that Remind us the Past is real. **

**Sakura**

I yawned and snuggled my forehead deeper into Hidan's chest, his arm was draped over the curve where my thigh and stomach changed in depth, at first it was a nightmare to have to stay with him, but I had gotten used to it, it was nothing romantic, this was usually as close as we ever got, and it was only because he kept his room freezing and his body emitted heat better than central heating ever could,

I could feel his soft warm breath on the top of my head, I had always liked him better when he slept; mostly because he couldn't use his usual foul language toward me, calling me 'Bitch' or 'Heathen'.

I sighed and pulled back unwillingly, he only groaned and squeezed his eyes in protest, I propped myself up on an elbow, smirked and leaned over him, the thin white satin sheets falling around my hips as I leaned over the wakening man's face, my hair brushing his cheeks,

I giggled as I watched his eyes open as he mumbled groggily, it amazed me how _we_ could sleep til' noon everyday and he would still be grumpy and exhausted every time he woke up.

"I wish you wouldn't do that." I rasped his voice course and strained from the groggy state he was in, his eyes a slight pinkish color, well… more than usual.

I snickered and placed a thumb over his lower lip, rubbing it sensually, "Is a wife not allowed to awaken her husband to her _beautiful_ face in the morning?"

He scoffed and pushed me away, "Beautiful my ass, bitch you aren't my wife." He mumbled sleepily as he sluggishly stumbled into the bathroom, I rolled my eyes and smiled, bouncing out of the bed, sliding softly as my black ankle-height socks met the cold marble floors,

I scratched my head and walked out the door of mine and Hidan's shared bedroom, it wasn't ever considered anything more than a friendship, although we had shared several moments that made it feel like he cared for me…

I shook away the thoughts, of coarse he didn't… I'm sure he didn't…

I smiled as I saw Deidara at the tabling, frowning and pushing around a horribly undercooked egg on his plate, I chuckled into my palm at the sight, causing him to shoot his head up and give me a wide grin, "Well look who's awake, wanna cook me some-"

"Breakfast, Got it Dei-Kun." I yawned, I could practically feel his smile radiating the room, usually I would be the one to be cooking for the guys, they might play it off as such cold hard criminals, but they were hopeless cooks,

I slid across the floors of the kitchen playfully as I alternated from the fridge to the stove, to flip the pancakes or scramble an egg, flipping bacon, whatever needed to be done,

I smiled as I set each plate on the table, one stacked high with sweet, buttery pancakes, the other with still sizzling bacon and the other with scrambled eggs, hopefully enough for everyone,

I smiled at Deidara's expression at each plate I placed on the table,

I smiled sleepily once again returning to the kitchen, poring a cup full of black coffee before leaving the room, loud chewing and swallowing could be heard from Deidara, who I was sure I would have to help when I returned because he would be choking on a big clump of food; like always,

I rolled my eyes as I tapped lightly on Madera-Sama's office door, waiting several moments before I heard his distracted 'hn'

I sighed and entered the room. Madera's eyes rose to me and he grinned, "Hello Blossom."

I smiled to him softly and placed the cup of coffee on his desk, "I brought you your coffee."

"Ah, Faithful as always, tell me, how are you and our favorite Jasinist?"

I blushed and scratched the back of my head, "Well… Same as always, uh… Nothing to tell like usual…"

"Ah. I see, and you two still share a bedroom? Tsk, what a waist, He should hurry and make you his before I wisp you away."

I blushed lightly. I knew Madara wanted me and Hidan to wed and produce kin, although he allowed us as much time as we needed, he even told us that we didn't have to fall in love, it could just be a partnership, nothing more, nothing less.

A small frown was born onto my lips, I cared for Hidan, a lot actually.. He was always protecing me, and in a harmless way, he knew I could defend myself he just did it out of caring… I think.

"Something wrong blossom?"

My eyes raised to Madera and I offered him a wary smile, "Not at all."

He seemed to see straight through my façade because he frowned and motioned for me to exit the room, I had figured he hated bad presences around him, it always seemed to bring him down,

"Hai." I nodded before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind me.

My feet softly patted the floor as I re-entered the kitchen, finding Kakuzu and Itachi sitting alone with Deidara, I couldn't help but smile when I saw Itachi shoving an entire pancake in his mouth, and Kakuzu viciously shoveling hand-full's of crunchy bacon into his mouth,

"Good morning Hime!" Muffled Kakuzu, his mouth still full of bacon, I chuckled; this was always how he ended up choking!

Deidara was setting back in his chair, feet rudely on the table as he placed two hands on his stomach; full.

I raised my eyebrows, it was odd for Hidan to not be out of his room yet, he was usually the first person to come and eat breakfast, besides Deidara who always attempted to make his own; knowing I would feel bad and cook him some,

I just shook away the thoughts and made my way past the table of eating Akatsuki,

"Where ya' goin, Yeah?" Called Deidara,

"I'm going to go make sure Hidan didn't go back to sleep," I mumbled, escaping into the hallway once again, making my was to our shared room, usually I would hear his snores, or running shower water, but all I heard was complete silence; which put me at unease,

"Hida?" I called, poking my head into the doorway, in case he was getting dressed or something that would have to do with naked-ness.

I chuckled at the thought and entered our room, placing my hands on my hips in frustration, where was he? It's not like he went anywhere… He always took me or Kakuzu along,

"Hm…" I grumbled, walking back to the door where our room attached to our bathroom, pressing my ear softly to the door, I could hear the slight shuffle of footsteps, but couldn't make out exactly what he was doing,

I leaned a little further onto the doorway, he sounded like he was changing his clothes,

Suddenly the door opened, I could feel myself falling forward,

Uh-Oh.

Suddenly my body harshly fell atop Hidan's, His chest soaking with warm water from the shower he had just escaped from, my pale jade eyes wide with surprise, I could feel the dark crimson burning beneath my cheeks,

I raised my head to look at the silver haired man who was looking down at me with an unfazed; lazy expression on his face, as if screaming 'why aren't you getting the fuck off me?'

I blushed, wiggling uncomfortably trying to raise myself off of him, but it ended as me propping myself up on my palms, my groin pressing hard against his, I heard a groan from beneath me and my eyes widened,

His eyes were rolled back as I shifted, unconsciously rubbing my groin against his as I tried to pull myself off, failing due to the fact my knee slipped from underneath me due to the puddles of water on the floor, before I could stop it my lips were pressed against his,

It was warm, and rough, his lips were warm and moist, he tasted minty, like toothpaste, I couldn't resist, I rubbed my tongue against his lower lip, he quickly allowed me entrance, his tongue wrapping around mine,

I moaned softly in his mouth as my hands ran softly down his insanely chiseled torso, I never really paid attention to how they would feel under my touch,

Suddenly I was being pushed off him, Hidan was pushing me off him!

When the hell did he have any sense of- Well, fucking anything!

My eyes were wide as I realized I was setting on the slightly wet floor of an empty bathroom, I just sat there for several minutes trying to think of why Hidan pushed me off like that, the foul-mouthed pervert have made constant comments to my body, although he resists me like this?

My hands balled into fists, It's not like I was unaware of the fact I was slightly attracted to the silver haired man, and he was as far as I could tell attracted to me, so what would make him want to push me away like that?

I jumped to my feet, storming into the room to demand an answer, although I was standing in an empty room, confused and irritated, like always. I scowled, my fist driving deep inside the onyx marble,

"What the fuck…" I whispered, yanking my fist from the stone, unable to understand anything about what had just happened,

I growled and tan my hands through my long hair once again, Never have I…. I even thought about…

"Hidan…" I whispered, my voice was trembling as I remembered I was going to be his wife one day, so why wasn't he…. Did he not like me? Was I not what he wanted…

I stepped closer to the wall mirror of our room, I had a nice body, long hair, I thought I was kind of pretty.. Did he just not like who I was…?

I scowled and punched into the glass of the mirror, walking back into the kitchen where only Itachi and Kisame sat, I plopped down into a chair and rested my head on the table in frustration,

"Did you find him?" Itachi said from behind a book,

I scowled deeper and nodded.

I wish Hidan would just tell me what he was feeling once and a while,

After all,

One day we'd be married…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Sorry for the late update, been busy with a lot of my stories, **

**XOXO**

**~WinterPants~**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Rouge**_

**Chapter Five; Avoiding Her**

**Hidan**

I growled and wiped the sweat from my brow, I had just sacrificed some old bald guy from a village close to here, although I couldn't focus enough, I frowned, Sakura…

"Fuck…" I growled, Sakura was such a… I didn't even know, I… She… Damn I can't believe that she did that, but I- She… I couldn't just give up fucking everything we already were, the friendship we had built up over the years!

I scowled and flicked the blood from my scythe, something I wouldn't regularly do, I enjoyed the sight of blood across my chest, it seemed to contrast well with my pale skin,

Although I stayed up all night thinking about how her body would looked caked in blood, my mouth watered at the thought, damn she was beautifu-

I sighed and scratched the back of my head, This bitch was getting to me,

I _loved _her! I scowled,

She was my _everything_, my _fucking_ everything! Damn that fucking girl!

I stormed into the hideout, stomping right past the idiots at the fucking table and into my fucking room, stomping right into that motherfucking bathroom and throwing the door open,

"Hidan what the fuck are you doing in-"

"_I fucking love you_, you stupid bitch!"

**TSUNADE**

I tapped my fingers angrily against the harsh wood of the desk before me, empty bottles of Sake thrown across the floor,

I knew Sakura was too smart to die there; she was after all _my apprentice_!

"Lady Tsunade-" The Nara boy started, breaking the long silence in the room, my eyes flickered to the mix of Jonin and Chunin before me, hopefully they would be enough to bring her back,

Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yaminaka, Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sasuke Uchiha…

"You're all the new arc for Sakura's second retrieval mission!" I smirked, noticing the wide foxy grin on Naruto's face, I jumped to my feet, placing my hands on my hips as I stared down the ninja before me,

"L-l-lady Hoka-Kage, w-what if she-she doesn't wa-want to…" The Hyuga Heiress stuttered, nervously shifting from side to side, I arched an eyebrow and slammed my fist down on the cherry wood best before me, a devastating crack sounded through the room as the desk fell into two pieces,

"Enough! Sakura is with the Akatsuki, You will find her, and retrieve her to me by next week or so help me…" I growled, silencing the questioning stares from the academy graduates before me.

"We'll bring her home! **Believe it**!" Naruto beamed,

I smiled, And it begins.

**Later With Naruto, **

"So guys, where are we headed?" I yawned, scratching the back of my head, it was getting dark and I was starving,

"Shut up Dobe." Sasuke hissed, turning to talk to that dog guy, Kiba, who was bent over holding a headband to Akamaru's nose,

"Alright, Akamaru's got her scent. So do I, my senses aren't strong enough to find her from the long range though, so Akamaru will guide us as far as possible." He nodded,

I sighed and adjusted my headband, "So does that mean we're close or not?" I groaned,

"N-Naruto-San… I- I have a bad feeling." Hinata stuttered, I arched an eyebrow as I noticed that weird blush she had all the time, I mean- Hell, she always had a blush like that! Was she really sick?

I stepped forward and placed a hand on her forehead, "Hinata are you-"

_**THUD**_

"Ah! Hinata!" I gasped as she fell over unconscious, although Ino beat me to her, she was looking up at me with a scowl as she placed a palm to Hinata's forehead, pulsing the odd green healing chakra into it,

I sighed, I had lost respect for Ino when she went after Sasuke when Sakura was gone, she even took over her place at the hospital… It felt like everyone was trying to replace her, Did anyone care about her at all?

I clutched my fists,

It didn't matter, I cared about her enough for all of us! I grinned and watched Hinata stand up, apologizing for falling unconscious, who apologizes for that? I mean, it wasn't her fault she passed out!

"What are you all smiley about, Idiot?" Snapped Ino, who was not so excited to find her until recently deceased 'best friend'

"We're going to find her." I beamed, I know we would, Sasuke was home, so why wouldn't Sakura chose to come too? She knows she's always welcome…

"Naruto. I don't think she wants to-"

"No!" I growled, cutting off Kiba, he was probably not thinking straight when he saw Sakura for the first time and he imagined all of that, or- or she was under some type of genjustu, or they fucked with her head! She wouldn't betray us like that!

Would she…

_**Sakura**_

"W-what did you just say…?" I whispered, clutching the black shower curtain tighter between my fingers, as I stared at the silver haired man, his chiseled chest bare and splattered with blood, glistening with sweat,

His face was mad- No, _Pissed_. His expression practically screamed it at me that he wasn't happy, although telling someone you love them would usually make someone nervous, scared maybe, but Hidan wasn't _just someone_, he was my partner- My friend, someone I had come to know and trust,

And trust was dangerous here, Yes, you could somewhat rely on your partners if it was an easy opponent, although most would leave you to die if you became useless or they found to purpose in being there anymore, although it wasn't exactly what I pictured when I thought about Hidan showing affection-

Not that I did that much…

"You heard me!" He growled, his face showed frustration and blind fury, I've known his antics for years now, and I had almost never seen him this man until now, what brought this on? Had I done something wrong…

Nothing really changed… So did that mean he's felt like this for a long time? Or did it mean…

I opened my mouth to say something, but… I mean- What was I supposed to say to such a bold statement? I mean- It's not like anyone's ever told me they loved me before, I tightened my grip on the shower curtain, which was about to-

Just fucking great,

The shower curtain gave and I started crashing to the onyx marble of the floor, to shocked to even throw my hands before my face I closed my eyes, waiting to collide with the harsh marble.

But I didn't, which was odd, usually Hidan would be laughing his ass of if I smashed my face into the floor, instead he caught me,

I blushed, He was holding me- In his arms… His eyes for once soft, gentle even, like he was protecting me.

"Hidan I-"

"Just shut it Hime," He sighed in frustration, pressing his forehead to me,

His skin was hot and moist with sweat, splatters of blood across his left cheek, I met his gauze, he had the most gorgeous eyes, an enticing color, one you couldn't resist if you tried,

He was a wolf in sheep's clothing that was for sure,

I closed my eyes, feeling him carrying me to our bed, it was always odd for me, how gentle he was with me, he was never too rough, if I was hurt in battle there was always hell to pay for it, I couldn't help but enjoy his company,

Soon a towel was thrown at me, plush and crimson like newly drawn blood, everything in the base was red or black, nothing had much of a personality to it, basic ninja tools and clothing were all each of the members had,

Although so many were so different,

Kisame's large scaled sword,

Hidan's Scythe,

Deidara's explosive artwork,

Itachi didn't use many tools, although he favored basic kunai, although he used his Sharringan for most things,

Konan's papers and origami weapons,

Zetsu… He was just a freak garbage disposal for bodies,

Pein had his realms…

And Madara… I smirked, well- He goes without saying I suppose.

"Sakura?" Snapped the silver haired Jashinist sitting at the end of the bed,

My eyes widened and I blushed when I realized I was just sitting up and staring off into space with the small towel clutched to my chest, obviously embarrassed by the situation I jumped to my feet and wrapped the towel around myself,

Hidan sighed loudly, the anger disappeared from his face as he watched me move about the room, He didn't usually call me 'Hime' like the rest of the organization, or 'Sakura' so both caught me off guard, and he hasn't insulted me yet…

**Well, Honey he loves you. And you know you love him too! Just tell him! **

_No! He didn't mean it…_ I blushed to the loud outspoken voice in my head as I grabbed the black roll of bindings and a pair of black underwear from the top drawer of my dresser, as well as a large-oversized T-shirt of Hidan's.

I had been sleeping in his shirts since I arrived here… I couldn't help but wander what made him so intent on telling me this all of a sudden, Nothing's changed… I'm the same girl I always was-

_No, No I wasn't_, I thought, as I walked into the bathroom, gently closing the door behind me as my eyes assessed the situation I had caused,

Hidan obviously turned off the shower when he grabbed me a towel, although the curtain remained on the floor, dampened and sprawled over the floor,

**Sakura, The leaf is full of traitors, No one even came looking for you! It's not like you're still hung up on the Uchiha- Or you would have taken Madara or Itachi, It's not like the agreement was that you had to marry Hidan, Just stay in the organization. **

I let out a small sigh, my eyes saddening more than they have in years, I didn't like to think too much about what they had done to my family… Or what my friends wouldn't do for me…

Wait, What did I just say? They weren't my friends… My friends were here, with me, they protected me, shielded me from the lies the leaf were telling me, what they told me, and did to my family…

I groaned as my head began to throb painfully as I tried too hard to think about the situation, which happened often, so I tried to just forget, although that didn't quench my thirst for answers to my questions,

**Stop thinking about it. Madara warned us it would cause us pain when we begged him to erase the pictures… **

_I know… I just can't help it… It's eating away at me… _I could feel the vicious throb as I finally gave up and started wrapping the black bandages around my breasts, I could never understand why I had asked him to erase the mental pictured of my true clan's ending,

**It was too overwhelming, even for me Sakura. **Inner sighed,

I nodded in agreement before pulling the large shirt over my head, not sure if I even wanted to return to the room, although I couldn't just sleep in the bathroom, could I?

And I cared about the stupid missing nin in my bed, No matter how much I told myself I didn't, I knew I did.

Even Kakuzu had admitted he had a soft spot for me, he hadn't tried to kill me the entire time I had been here, a little cruel at first, but nothing compared to what he would do to himself during rituals, or even when he was sacrificing for his god,

I shivered remembering the first time I was dragged along by Kakuzu to watch him practically take apart some old guy who was hitting on me at the bar a few days prior,

I just shook the thoughts away and shook out my wet hair, which had taken on a neon color due to the water soaking through it, it was usually a faded cotton-candy color, although it seems that it was more pink before I finally accepted my immortality,

**Ehem, Need I remind you He's immortal too, he'll never get old and wrinkly, he'll be our Sexy Hidan forever! CHA! **The voice practically screamed in my head, causing my eyebrow to twitch in irritation,

I sighed and opened the door, I had to face this dead on, it was nothing I could avoid, no matter how hard I tried, I mean- We shared a room for Kami's sake, what was I supposed to do? Tell him my tongue got chopped out?

I pondered the thought for a moment before I deemed it a ridiculous plan,

My eyes widened when I realized he was watching me, curiously, like a cat watching butterflies swim through the air, with pure curiosity, he looked so innocent- So pure like I wanted so badly to be, but I couldn't deny destiny,

I was permanently tainted, and there was no changing my mind at this point,

"Well?" He finally said, breaking the silence,

I let out a small sigh in irritation, knowing I couldn't lie to him anymore than I could to myself, He deserved the truth, no matter how much it hurt to say,

"Hidan, I love you too." I sighed, knowing neither of us could take back our truth at this point, although it was obvious Pein and Konan were together, I wasn't sure how a relationship between me and Hidan would effect our teamwork,

But we were here to be his bride? And a permanent member of the Akatsuki, so what would it honestly hurt? It's not like anything would change really, Hidan was always protective over me, and we slept in the same bed,

I blushed when I realized I had been thinking of it as no more than when I would sleep with my teammate during a mission as a child, now… Would it be any different?

I was somewhat excited at the thought; I remember how badly I craved the attention of the younger Uchiha when I was young, and how he would find some way to crash my heart in some way,

But that was the past. I just hope he doesn't show up here, this was my home and the last thing I wanted was another fucking Uchiha to come and spoil it all for me.

Hidan remained silent, a soft smirk on his face showed how accomplished the silver haired man was feeling right now, and I couldn't help bus smile back at him, his hair wasn't slicked back like usual, and it fell into his eyes,

I plopped down into the bed next to him, reaching out a hand to push back the unruly silver locks, his eyes widened and a small pink tint reached his pale skin, which was surprisingly soft, as I had learned from sleeping in the same bed with him for over two years now.

"Took you long enough to confess, bitch." He smiled, pulling me into his lap, I blushed at the sudden affection, but melted into the oddly satisfying embrace, feeling so comfortable with him, even more so now.

"Shut the fuck up." I mumbled, burring my face into the hardened muscles of his chest, He smelled like rain and sweet earthy smells, not wretched dirt, but sweet come outdoors smell, that reminded me of the early morning,

He chuckled and it rumbled through his chest, causing me to smile,

Is this what I've been missing out on? Happiness? Or the knowledge that another human being could possibly love my unstable, ill-tempered self? Or that I could love the foul-mouthed jashinist?

It was all a surprise, but well deserved. I couldn't remember the last time I was this happy… Or even the last time I had felt the butterflies in my stomach like I did now…

His face was buried in the damp unruly locks of my hair as he clutched me tighter to him, I could never imagine this man being so affectionate, although it was soothing, and I didn't want to question it too much- I was just happy I could feel this way once again,

I was in love,

With Hidan,

In love…

Love…

Hidan…

It was intoxicating, and I found my eyelids becoming heavy as I held onto the much larger man, He chuckled once more, sending pleasant vibrations through my body before pulling me down with him, landing onto my side I snuggled against the only source of heat in this damned room,

I could hear the shuffle of fabrics as he pulled the large silk comforter over us, wrapping an arm around my waist before pulling me closer, his thumb rubbing circles into the small of my back, it felt nice…

He felt nice…

"I love you, Blossom." He whispered hotly into my ear,

I succumbed to sleep with a smile gracing my paled pink lips,

Hidan loved me,

I loved him,

And maybe… We could be happy in the misery of our lives.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**Haven't updated in forever, forgive me I have 2 broken ribs and a hint of alcohol poisoning, **

**I'll update more frequently seeing as I cannot do much of anything in the state I am in, **

**~WinterPants~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six; _I'm not the person that you knew Back then_. **

**Hidan**

I watched Sakura's blank, saddened expression as we all sat at the table, drinking to Itachi Uchiha's death, all slightly saddened, well, some of them, personally I liked the guy, he was alright, but it doesn't make a difference to me if he's here or not,

Although Sakura was good friends with the guy, and Kisame is a little down, as well as that idiot Tobi, Madara is slightly upset to see him go but is almost positive Sasuke will come crawling around now,

Like he's sooooo excited about that. I hated the kid, mostly from what Sakura's had to say about the fucking little punk; nothing good I assure you. Although this must have hit her the hardest, Sakura had a disposition for getting too close to people,

I sighed and draped an arm over her, pulling her softly to me, to people outside of the Akatsuki she was cold, merciless, but no one knew her life, no one truly knew Sakura Haruno, the pain she had suffered through, but that's coming from a guy who killed his entire family.

I kissed the top of her head, rubbing her shoulder softly, I wasn't good at this comforting shit but I would try if only for her, this bitch was my fucking life, all wrapped into a sexy body,

So, our wedding is back on, so in the eyes of Jashin we will be wed before I tear her up. I smirked at the thought, Looking down at her. Her eyes were sad, although she had cried a lot this morning they weren't puffy, I could tell she wasn't going to take the news well, so I decided against telling her;

Sasuke was with a group of her little 'friends' when Sasuke encountered Itachi and Kisame returning to the base from a small village close to leaf, Kisame tried to do what he could but he was subdued by the Hyuga girl as Sasuke and Itachi battled,

Kisame was able to escape but he was severely injured, we all agreed on ignoring the fact that Sakura's friends were nearby, we didn't need her going on a killing spree with us in her way; She'd kill all of us,

But the thing that concerned me was that when Madera left this morning he sent a letter to Pein, who pulled me aside to say that Sasuke was with Madera at the moment, and he had showed no hesitation to accept an invitation to the Akatsuki…

This would be fucking terrible, although I was sure my feisty little bitch would knock the Uchiha bitch out. I smirked at the thought, the mental slideshow going through my mind,

I sighed and scooped her up in my arms, snatching a bottle of Sake from the table as we walked back into the direction of our room, Not that we or the Sake would be missed, everyone was too busy fucking sulking around.

Sakura remained silent for once, did I mention I'm not good at the whole comforting shit? I'm not at all, but it's cool, Sakura likes it that way; I mean- I don't fucking know,

This damn woman has me all fucked in the head!

I groaned and laid her down gently. Looking down at her I could tell how lucky I was- 

Wait, What the Hell?

I sighed. Plopping down next to her and running a hand through her hair,

Damn bitch and her beauty.

**Sakura**

I wasn't that sad really, Just unnerved, My home, where I had felt so safe all these years, Safe from the pain, Safe from… _Them_, Was practically falling apart, They thought I didn't know that Sasuke was coming.

They thought I didn't.

I let out a small sigh as Hidan ran his hands through my hair, Wandering what could be done at this point, I knew it was only a matter of time before my walls all came crashing down, and the memories…

**Stop thinking about it Sakura, We can't handle it. Madera will protect us, We'll be alright. **

For the first time Inner's words soothed me, I wasn't sure what would happen when Sasuke arrived here, Tomorrow if I heard Pein and Hidan correctly…

I bit my lip, My heart was about to thud out of my chest, Usualy Itachi was here to calm my nerves about his little brother, he would tell me Sasuke was too good to end up here, he wasn't like the rest of us, Tainted with terrible memories.

Sometimes I feel like my mind is trying to destroy me,

It was time's like this that I missed Naruto, I missed having a home, where people cared about you, but it's about this time that I remember the scorn of my past and the heartache disappears in blind rage,

It felt like I was going to throw up, I could feel the bile rising in my throat as I thought about it. Never have I been able to catch a break in this world,

**You have Hidan Sakura, and fucking look, He cares about you, No matter how dumb he is; He's trying to show you, he might not know it, but I know how hard he's been trying. **

_**I know, I just don't want him to be the next person who's taken away from me,**_

**Sakura, Our parents would be proud of what we're doing. They deserve this peace we are going to give them soon, The destruction of the leaf. **

_**Are you sure this is the right thing to do though? Why does it feel so wrong? **_

**I can't say Sakura, but you saw the images yourself, you saw what they did, The lies unraveled before your very eyes. **

"I know…" I whispered unconsciously with a heavy sigh, My whole body felt like it was at war with itself, I didn't want to do wrong.

But I couldn't just stand by and watch like all the ignorance of the leaf have done for years, The village is tainted, like me.

I felt tears well up; and I tried to push them back, but soon they spilled over, the coolness of them shocked me, I could feel Hidan go tense,

I knew he was trying, He's just not good at this type of thing.

"I love you." I whispered, Curling myself against his chest, my knees pulled up to me in what I would call comfort,

"I love you too.." He grumbled, I smiled at his attempt, It was sweet;

I just hope Sasuke's prepared to meet me.

I'm not who I used to be.

**Sakura's Retrieval Arc; **

"Gah! Great! Now Sasuke's gone too..." Mumbled the Blond Kyubi Vessel, Scratching the back of his head, trying to pretend he wasn't as concerned as he was, although the Great Fox was begging to be released to reek havoc.

"N-Naruto… I d-don't think this is-is a good Idea anymore…" Hinata whispered, nervous at the carnage before them, the fight between Itachi and Sasuke was horrendous,

Naruto grinned and slapped Hinata on the back, "Nah Hinata, It'll be alright." He could hear the doubt in his own voice but desperately tried to push it back, although they all suspected as much,

Naruto always trying to pretend there wasn't evil in this world.

"I'm with Hinata on this, I have a bad feeling." Kiba said, Crossing his arms, shaken just as much as Naruto but trying to pretend otherwise,

"I think we should keep going." The Bleach Blonde Ino smiled, wanting to prove just how much stronger she was than Sakura; Like always, although she wasn't aware of the devastation to her well being that would cause.

Neji's eyes were fixed on the scenery before him, Broken Trees and blood strewn across almost the entire plain, deep craters in the earth all around them, crossing his arms he assessed the situation; Knowing Naruto wouldn't leave Sakura or Sasuke behind…

"We should keep going." The lower-branch Hyuga stated, all eyes fell on him with astonishment, expecting him of all people to see the danger in this mission,

"I think we should too, we didn't let Sasuke go without a fight, why would we let Sakura?" Said Shikamaru, also surprising the crowd, a jealous spike causing Ino's anger to rise although she pushed it back,

"Alright! Let's go!" Grinned Naruto, Skipping gleefully forward,

**Hinata**

I frowned, I don't think this is a good Idea… But it makes Naruto so happy, so…Why not do it for him, I mean, as long as he was happy…

Me and Ino stayed walking behind the group, I didn't like the look on her face, Why would she look so mad about going to get Sakura? She was our friend, we all g-grew up together?

I squirmed a bit, uncomfortable when her eyes fell on me, I looked away, a deep blush burning my cheeks.

She grasped my arm, causing me to stop, and I had to push down the urge to activate my byakugan out of slight surprise and fear at the crazed look in her eyes, I'd never seen Ino look this way.

"Hinata, We need to talk," She whispered, although her whispering sounded more like talking, considering her talking was yelling… I bit my lower lip and nodded quickly, trying to squirm out of her slightly painful grasp, but failing and giving in,

"Listen, Sakura is with the Akatsuki now, I can feel it. So I propose me and you go after her, because we don't want the others being killed, right?" She nodded, I didn't like this, Ino was acting strange,

"But she's our friend!" I squeaked, sounding louder than I meant to, and the crowd before us stopped, but Ino said we were just talking, giving them somewhat of an oblong smile, they all just shrugged and walked off,

I felt the aura around us darken as Ino leaned in, her face reminded me of my father's when he became angred at me doing something wrong, father rarely yelled and when he did it always struck some kind of fear in me, I think it scared Neji too, although he didn't show it.

"She's not my friend, I mean- Come on! Think about it, She always flutters around all the guys and then when they ask her out she pretty much beats them! I mean, Seriously Hinata, She thinks she's better than us, and the way she hits Naruto… I wouldn't have her as a friend after that," Ino nodded, I knew she was infamous for being a gossip, but this-

This was just wrong, I mean… I didn't care much that her and Naruto were close, as long as he's happy… Although she could try to hit him less hard… And…

No! She's been my friend since I was in the academy, Ino too, She's probably just tired and talking nonsense.

"Hinata!" Ino snapped, jerking me slightly, I blushed when I realized she was speaking to me,

"I'm s-sorry Ino, What'd you say?" I whispered, the others weren't far ahead of us and I didn't want to lose them in case Ino kept speaking nonsense,

"I said; Are you my friend or not?"

My eyes widened and I pondered it for a moment, I didn't exactly remember her being very friendly to me, She pushed me to wear uncomfortable tight clothing, and to grow my hair out because she did, although Naruto said it looked better short,

I let out a sigh, giving in so she would leave me be; "Yes Ino."

She smirked, an uncomfortable hug was born and as soon as she released me she linked arms with me, skipping forward, like nothing harsh was just said or done,

I bit my lip, why would she say those things? Sakura always tried to help Ino, training and she even reclined without an argument when Ino became head medic,

Although what Sakura didn't know was that Ino cheated on the entrée test…

**FLASHBACK**

**I smiled, Sakura and I were having lunch at Ichiraku's, It felt wonderful outside and the sun was super bright, **

"**Hinata I don't know how to manage to look so pretty with all the constant training you do, Got any beauty tips?" The pinkette winked playfully, **

**I blushed and chuckled, Sakura had always been kind to me, She healed me on house calls and didn't complain when I squirmed to get flu shots, she even lessened the pain with her chakra, **

**I was wearing a lavender tank-top and white shorts, Sakura wore her usual scrubs, clean of coarse, Sakura was a perfectionist, Healing without a scar, She had hark purple bags under her eyes, which where a pinkish color, I frowned, She must work so hard, **

**"Sakura, You r-really should get more sleep." I said softly with a smile, **

**She chuckled and sipped her Sake, I wandered how she managed to drink so much without collapsing, I never liked the taste of alcohol, although I have heard about Lady Hokage's habits, **

"**I have a duty to my village Hinata, I owe it to them, besides, I like the feeling of being useful, Even if it's just a little…" She said, I could see the sadness in her eyes, I felt so bad for Naruto and Her, How they constantly try so hard to bring Sasuke back, **

**Although we all noticed the change in Sakura, she's saddened, like she's miserable, **

**I placed a trembling hand on her shoulder, feeling bolder than usual,**

"**Sakura, You are useful, Y-you've saved everyone's life countless times, I would love to have that feeling." I smiled, **

**Her face lit up and she grinned, clasping my hand in hers, "You should work at the hospital with me! Ino's taking the written test right now, and I'd love to see you guys everyday!" She smiled, **

**To be honest I was so jealous of Sakura, everyone knew how beautiful she was, and brave, I wished I could be like her countless times, **

"**Oh! That reminds me, I gotta' go, Thanks for coming to lunch with me Hina," She smiled, placing money on the counter, I waved as she walked away, turning back to the counter, **

**I blushed when I realized she had paid for my food too, and I had eaten more than her… **

**I smiled and jumped from the stool, giving Ayame a wave as I left the ramen stand, **

"**Hinata!" **

**I jumped at the loud voice, and turned to see Ino racing over to me, a paper clutched so tightly in her hand I thought it would turn to shreds by the time she got over to me, **

"**Hello Ino." I smiled, the heat causing a bead of sweat to drip down my neck, **

"**Hey!" She panted, wearing her usual clothing, although her shirt looked shorter than usual, I blushed at the thought of wearing such a bold thing, **

"**I- Gah, Passed," She panted, her hands capped over her knees, My eyes widened and a smiled, **

"**Congratulations Ino,"**

**She grinned wickedly, "Don't congratulate me, Congratulate Sakura." He laughed, **

**I furrowed my brow, trying to understand what she meant by the statement, **

"**Let me explain, During the test, you have to heal Six dying fish, I'm not sure why; but anyway, it was right next to a pool, and as Sakura pulled them from the water for the others, placing them into a tank, I tossed mine into the pond and grabbed the live ones," She grinned, **

**My eyes widened, What if Ino was healing Naruto, and she didn't know how, What if-**

"**Oh don't look at me like that!" She snapped, Her mood changing instantly from glory to rage, I blushed and backed away moving my hands in a peaceful motion, **

"**S-Sorry Ino, I uh- I have t-to go!" I scrambled away, although her shouts of profanity behind me was causing me stress, **

**It wasn't that bad… Right? **

**I mean, They'd figure out sooner or later… **

**Right?**

**END OF FLASHBACK **

My eyes nervously found Ino, Who was grinning and skipping forward, yanking me around with her, I felt a slight pang of a foreign emotion-

Anger.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Hell Yeah. **

**R&R**

**Updating soon.**

**~CHERRYBLOSSOM-BLOODSTORM~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven; _I don't Care._ **

_**Sasuke**_

I sighed, Madara was leading me into the Akatsuki base, which was Hidden in a large cliff side cave, The genjustu rippled as Madera stepped through it, It was almost eerie how he reminded me of my father.

In appearance, not attitude, In fact; His attitude was pissing me off, Even that Hokage from leaf combined my girlfriend didn't boss me around as this fucker. I smirked at the thought of Karin, considering I had left her back in Konoha, Waiting for me;

But I'd never come, I was about to get a second chance at true power; true revenge on the Uchiha massacre, my entire body ached terribly, my eyes burning like hellfire. I could feel the thick blood pooling in the sockets, spilling over, I sighed and stepped through the genjustu barrier with him, wandering if I would happen to run into Sakura here.

My chest tightened painfully, after believing she was deceased for so long for her to turn up mere minutes away from me was painful, making my head throb uncontrollably.

"Sasuke." Madera said, amusement ringing through his teeth, I sneered and turned to stare at the elder Uchiha, although he didn't appear that way, his youth granted by bodies he had stolen, much like Orochimaru I suppose.

"What?" I snapped, angered by his treatment toward me, like I was to roll over and sit for him. I took orders from no one; he was a mere pawn in my game.

"Please, Fell free to make yourself welcome, although since you are an Uchiha I hope you don't think you'll be receiving special treatment." He smiled; I just snorted and turned away,

"Oh, and One more thing," He smirked, "Stay away from Sakura, I can't control what Hidan will do to you after that," He winked.

Sakura?

Sakura… Here…

Sakura is here,

I knew that but-

Sakura,

She's in my grasp, and- Now, I can't-

_**Sakura**_

I smiled at Hidan, who was wiping blood from his scythe as I healed the gashes in his chest and arms, I must admit; His rituals were my least favorite part of the day, but I didn't mind, knowing how passionate his was about his god.

"Fucking son of a-"

I arched en eyebrow at the scowling silver haired man as he ran his fingers over a scratch in scythe, I finished up the healing quickly and easily as he hopped to his feet, "I need to go sharpen this, I'll be back later." He grumbled, I knew he was exhausted, but didn't protest. I just shrugged and walked from the room behind him,

I found Kisame in the kitchen, who gave Hidan a weak nod as the irritated Jashinist made his way through the door, I sat across from my blue skinned friend, whose scales rippled softly as I reached for the bottle of sake in the center of the table.

"You alright?" I said softly, pouring sake into a tea-glass.

His dark eyes traveled to me and he nodded, a small smile on his face as he leaned against the wall, "I mean, I knew sooner or later it would happen. He even knew it. I just need to get used to it." He sighed.

I nodded and quickly drank the shot of sake, closing my eyes at the familiar warmth in my throat.

A smooth, sharky grin appeared on Kisame's face, "You drink just like your Shishou."

I chuckled, "Perhaps. I did learn from the best."

"Sakura."

I turned to look at Pein, His voice sounded more serious than usual, I nodded and stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in my cloak, following behind him as we came to Madera's office, I irked an eyebrow although my orange-haired friend just shrugged.

I opened the door, already sensing the younger Uchiha's presence before I opened the door.

**Just don't look at him Sakura. Just. Don't. Look.**

I took a steady silent breath before stepping forward, giving Madera a respectful bow.

"Hello dearest. How is Hidan?" He smiled,

I sighed, "He's fine, although I couldn't help but wander, why's Sasuke here?" I said, my eyes glancing at him briefly, catching the bored, stoic look I expected to see.

**What the hell did I just tell you? **Inner snapped, although I ignored her and turned my attention back to the older Uchiha, his scarlet eyes dancing with amusement,

"He's seeking power, per usual. Although I must say I enjoy your company much more. Your chakra is so warm and sweet." He smiled, I blushed softly, usually Madera was kind to me, was he trying to irritate Sasuke?

No, Sasuke doesn't care about me. I know he doesn't….

Madera sighed and rested his cheek in his palm, looking bored. "I was hoping you could show him to his room my dear, and please; don't allow Hidan to kill him. I don't want to have to feed Zetsu just yet." He sighed lazily, I nodded and walked through the open door, listening as Sasuke followed behind me,

I was mere feet from Sasuke Uchiha,

The very man I had searched for most of my childhood, and now he was right in my grasp, at my mercy should I decide to dispose of him, at my very will to do with as I-

**Didn't Madera Just say _not_ to kill him? **

I scowled, wandering why she was still talking, I wasn't going to respond to her. The silence was a comfort really, I never took Sasuke as the talkative type, although I could smell him; Honestly, He smelled of very strong, very cheap perfume.

Were the rumors of him and Orochimaru true? I thought, chuckling softly.

I could feel his cold gauze on the back of my head as we went through the long stretch off hallways, to a spiral staircase, I grabbed one of the black candles from the wall and nodded to the younger Uchiha before starting down the long staircase.

"This will only be temporary until Madera-San finds a room better suited for you." I said bleakly. Not much for talking either, well- With him anyway.

"Hn." He grunted, I suppressed an eye roll as my anger started to bubble at my skin, the black chakra pooling out of me,

I hissed as the candle turned to liquid in my hand from the immensely heated chakra, I peered over my shoulder, although I had no problem seeing in the dark I found it amusing to watch the irritation spread through Sasuke's face,

It was better than nothing I must say.

I gave a sigh and lifted a hand, allowing my healing chakra to pump through it, a temporary light as we made our way through the lower-level rooms, much to my amusement Sasuke's room was next to my lab.

I stepped into the room, lighting the candles with a sweep of the black chakra that flowed so freely from my fingertips. I could practically sense Sasuke's curiosity as I used my Kekki Genkai.

I shook my head in amusement.

"Staring is rude, Uchiha." I sighed, passing him to get through the doorway, although his hand caught my robe, bad decision.

He growled as I pulsed my chakra through my skin once more, hearing the hiss of it making contact with his skin. He should know better than to take such rash actions upon another Shinobi.

Oh wait, I forgot, I was 'Useless' he must have forgotten I had graduated the academy just like him, at the top of the class, just like him, fucking Uchiha pride.

"Please, refrain from touching me." I said, brushing the ash from my burnt robes on my shoulder, slamming the door behind me, although he seemed to have forgotten my warning because the door opened and I could sense his putrid, cold chakra behind me as he edged closer.

"Haruno," He warned, I could sense his chakra flare, and turned around, the amusement sparking in my eyes as I smirked at him, crossing my arms to stare into his sharringan eyes.

"Yes?" I mused,

He just grunted, returning to his room and shutting the door silently behind him, If I was a younger me I would have been offended by this; Maybe even angry, but now- He didn't mean anything to me, we were doing fine without him,

I let out a heavy sigh as I climbed the staircase; there was no use in getting angry about it.

I felt the cooled air as I entered the hallway, silence greeting me with the large allotment of rooms, nothing particularly in them; however Madera wants to be prepared in case he meets some new recruits. Not that we would need any in the first place.

"Sakura."

I glanced up at Hidan, who had come to see me I suppose, the concern in his eyes seemed to be masked with his usual cocky rage, I felt a smile spread across my lips. I felt a slight pang of guilt as he touched the burned patch in my robe with a smirk.

"Hey, Looks like Bitch got bite." He winked,

I chuckled, Shoving him before walking down the hallway, hearing his loud, hearty laugh as he followed behind me, I could smell his familiar scent; like Mint and smoke, It made me smile softly,

"What the fuck are you all smiley about?" He snapped,

"Just shut up." I laughed, feeling his arm drape around my shoulder.

"Hey, Hey bitch, Don't be mad at me," He winked, I couldn't help but roll my eyes,

It's odd how I could be so shaken one moment, and Hidan would take it all away,

**Hahaha. Fucking damn we gave Uchiha a lesson! CHA!**

_We didn't even touch him!_

**Shit, No. I could taste his burning flesh when my chakra bubbled. Delicious.**

I laughed, surprised at how easy it was to ignore the Uchiha, at first, I thought it would be terrible, but it didn't seem so bad when he was actually here, why was I so worked up over nothing.

I rolled my eyes, Feeling Hidan's hand rub over my ass,

_**SMACK**_

_**Sasuke**_

I sighed and turned on my side, the uncomfortable bed was dusty, and reminded me of Orochimaru.

I chuckled darkly, bleakly.

Weakling. Was my fate going to be like my brothers? Looking for a challenge that wouldn't surface? Destined to constantly search for fulfillment in empty battles, perhaps the Kyubi would be of use to me.

I felt my chakra flare at the thought of my blonde _teammate_.

If I knew what my family's fate really was I wouldn't have returned to the leaf, it all seemed to empty now, like once my revenge is finished I wouldn't have much else to live for, I sighed,

It didn't matter, all that mattered in this world was getting re-

"**Ow! Fucking Jashin, Sakura that **_**HURT**_**!"**

I arched an eyebrow at the loud ramblings, I just scowled,

_Sakura_

Was it the simple fact that I had another purpose in life, or was it just the new Sakura that made me scowl at the thought of her? Perhaps I had just lied to myself all these years and created some false image of a kunoichi who was not actually a fangirl.

I just sighed, turning to lay on my back with my arms folded behind my head.

I think I would prefer to mourn over her than deal with her annoying presence actually.

And that chakra- What could it be?

_**Naruto**_

**Damn Uchiha, Damn him to hell. **

He better pray that this is some elaborate scheme to bring Sakura home or this time- This time he wouldn't be coming home at all! And what the hell was going on with my team?

Ino and Hinata were acting all weird, Well… _Weirder_ than usual, And Shikamaru and Neji really thought it was a good idea to go get her, don't get me wrong, I'm super happy that they agreed; but something didn't feel right.

I was so fucking happy though!

Sakura was alive!

I couldn't get over it! She was alive! And _so close_!

I could feel it, Believe it!

**Tsunade**

I wiped my mouth of the Sake dripping down my chin, my eyes wandering to my brown-haired apprentice; Shizune, who had been marching around my damn office and making mu head hurt!

"Stop that!" I snapped, my head already feeling cloudy from the amount of alcohol, Good ol' Sake.

"Lady Tsunade, I believe you should have studied more into Sakura's case before you sent them after her like that…" Whispered my old friend, I just shrugged, the details sobering me silently,

"Shizune, I have faith in her, I know she's a smart girl. She would know better than to-"

Suddenly something snapped in Shizune, "-But what the leaf did to her clan! Lady Tsunade I-"

I stopped her, eyebrows furring softly as I gauzed over her, "Huh?" I hiccupped, highly interested, just slightly drunken.

She let out a heavy sigh, "Lady Tsunade, I was organizing files a few months ago, looking for hers in the old- Well… Storage room when I went over a file that was listed, "Haruno" And I noted how oddly large it was, considering when Sakura arrived here, Sarutobi placed her with 'Foster-Parents' but this was odd, and I noticed it was from the village-"

A small, humorless laugh escaped my lips, "The Mizukage was serious…"

"Lady Tsunade! Did you know about this?" She cried, her eyes wide with astonishment, I raised a hand to silence her as I thought,

"No, When I heard it from her I presumed it was a rumor, she didn't even seem to know much about the whole massacre, but now…"

My eyes widened as the truth sunk in, sobering my mind when the alert became real,

"Get Jariya!" I wailed, jumping to my feet.

This was a real situation, when real fear was allowed.

I had just sent a group of Chunin after a Junjuriki of the mythical Haruno clan.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**It'll all make sense in time.**

**MUAHAHAHAHAHA, *COUGH* HAHAHA!**

**~CHERRYBLOSSOM-BLOODSTORM~**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight; My house is not your battle grounds.**_

**AN: I have something to say, to the _one _rude reviewer here; I don't really care if you don't like Sakura, but if you don't like her, don't read her fics. Be mature. **

_**Sakura**_

Fucking idiots.

Those motherfucking idiots.

"Who are we tracking again?" Hidan yawned, irritated I had dragged him out of bed at two in the morning, but by now he should be used to it.

"I can sense leaf shinobi, no better than a Chunin status for each. The Kyubi is with them as well." I whispered, Knowing well that Madera didn't want the nine-tails anymore, but I wouldn't mind reuniting with those bastards.

That reminded me; I wander if they had seen Sasuke's little brawl with Itachi, Had he escaped them too? Sasuke wasn't an all out weakling, but it's shocking to see Naruto let him out of his grasp once again.

Not that it applies to me, but I can't help but wander if this is the pitiful search party Tsunade sent for me; Wonderful, a bunch of Chunin who haven't the slightest idea what they're doing. I wander how Tsunade will feel when their bodies are returned, Maybe.

I smiled, watching from the treetops as they unknowingly walked under my surveillance, I noticed the density in Kiba's shoulders as he walked beside his large wolf pup. I'm glad I sensed them, or I wouldn't get this wonderful show.

There's Shikamaru, I wander if he voiced that they kill me, Like hid did for Sasuke, No. They probably don't see me as a threat to them… Yet. Of coarse there was Neji, I worked beside him as an Anbu blackops, and Hinata, Poor, poor Hinata. Didn't she know this was a _real _mission?

"When do we attack?"

I stared angrily at Hidan, who practically had his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he looked down at the shinobi hungrily, I'm suppressed he wasn't drooling. I chuckled at him for a moment, before turning back to my prey.

I wouldn't want them to know I was watching yet, I needed to focus.

**I say you let me have a couple of hours with them, I'll have them peeling off their own skin. **Inner danced, I went over the thought for a moment, but decided it would be better for me to have control, at first at least.

I wander where they thought they were going, In fact they had passed the hideout a few miles back. I should have stopped them and given them directions.

I certainly am generous to my guests.

_**Naruto**_

I had this weird feeling that someone was following us, but I couldn't sense anyone nearby, I heard some rustling in the treetops, but Kiba assured me they were squirrels because he and Akamaru couldn't smell anything.

I also noticed Neji getting closer and closer to me, What the hell was he doing.

"Naruto." He warned, grabbing my sleeve, alright, things just got too weird; I squeaked and yanked my arm away, waving it frantically in the air due to nervousness.

He edged closer, What the hell.

"_Naruto_," He said again,

I leaned in awkwardly, trying to avoid as much physical contact as possible,

"I can _see her_." He whispered.

I felt my heart flutter, and my eyes scanned the area, where could she-

"**Fucking OW Sakura**!"

I could sense everyone coming to a stop as a flash of white came crashing from the treetops and into a crater onto the ground; There was only one person who could have distributed a punch like that;

"Sakura!" I beamed, looking side to side for her.

I watched as the air flickered and Sakura appeared, Woah! Even Kakashi-Sensei couldn't move that fast!

My eyes looked at Sakura, She- She looked… Different.

Her hair was long, and she had a huge sword on her back! HUGE! It looked like Zabuza's, but it was crimson and had some odd symbol on it,

The one thing that really bothered me… Was she was wearing an Akatsuki cloak…

"I can't say I don't want to do this; Because I do, But I don't really believe the odds are fair."

I listened to every word that came out of her mouth, it wasn't like when we were kids, she seemed more… Womanly, Melodic, like a lullaby. I watched the cute smirk appear on her beautiful features and felt a blush appear on my face.

"Sakura, We don't want to fight you, We're going to save you!" I grinned,

I watched Amusement flash through her now crimson eyes, I admit; It was a little creepy, But it's still Sakura!

"I meant; You guys don't stand a chance, It's really cruel of me to fight you," She smiled, I could see her brightly white teeth in the moonlight, and two, sharp canines, gleaming.

"Bring it on Forehead!"

I was too dazed by Sakura's face to notice Ino racing to her, Sakura's smile widened,

I reached out to stop her, but I was too distracted,

"Ino- Don't!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Nice cliffy eh? ;)**

**~Cherryblossom-Bloodstrom~**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The New Sakura.**

_**Hidan**_

Shit.

I watched the blonde haired dyke lunge at Sakura, Shit this bitch must have been insane, and how the hell did she make it through the Academy? I mean, seriously? Charging at another shinobi without knowing a single thing about her?

I watched Sakura catch her fist, In an Instant the Blonde's leg was lunging at Sakura's abdomen, which she caught easily, and in a second I could hear the crack of bones under Sakura's enhanced strength.

The Blonde screamed as her femur broke in one snap.

_**Naruto**_

"Ino! What the hell were you thinking?" I growled, quickly charging at the two, I could sense some odd dark chakra, it was starting to rile up the Kyubi.

**Boy, you cannot handle this on your own. Let. Me. Out. **

I clenched my teeth at the demanding, panicked tone on the Kyubi. He couldn't possibly be talking about Sakura, she isn't a demon, she isn't a monster, Sakura has been my teammate, my friend since we were kids, She-

She was never anything special, she couldn't even keep up with me and Sasuke, How could she possibly bring panic to the Nine Tailed Fox?

"Where do you think you're going kid?"

I was thrown into the chest of some white haired guy, with pinkish eyes.

"I'm going to go get Sakura! Believe it!" I smirked, watching my shadow clone jump onto the large mans back, to which he growled and threw over his shoulder, I was already grabbing Ino and tearing her away from Sakura by then.

"Ow!"

I halted when I heard Ino's gasp, I looked at her misshapen leg and bit down on the inside of my cheek, the bone was sticking out and needed healed quick or Ino would bleed out soon.

"Hinata! Help Ino heal herself!" I demanded, Handing the injured blonde over to Kiba, who was looking at Sakura like a ghost, Akamaru was whimpering and down onto his belly.

What the hell was going on here?

"Scared Demon-boy?"

I grunted when I felt a large hand clamp onto the back of my Anbu vest, and ducked from the oncoming fist quickly.

"What the hell have you done to her?" I spat,

The mans laugh rumbled through his arms and caused me to loose a little control to the Kyubi.

"Hey Hime, Were you planning on going anywhere?" He laughed, his eyes locked on Sakura, like she was an old friend!

"Hm… No, I don't think so." She chuckled, This wasn't happening, they did something to her- Brainwashed her! I don't know what they did but this wasn't her!

_**Tsunade**_

"I need to know everything."

My eyes met with an old friend, the Mizukage, much like me in ways, but not as beautiful of course.

I watched the redhead disappear behind her desk, and resurface with a large file, dusty and the once crisp white papers yellowed with age, I could smell the musk as the cloud of dust rose in the air.

"This is the Haruno file. I told you this once Tsunade, but you didn't listen to me." She sighed, dramatically if you ask me.

Our heads turned as Shizune walked into the room, three cups of tea in her hands, I looked over my apprentice, and it amazes me everyday how I took Sakura in, how we both worked alongside her, and didn't see the darkness inside of her…

I took a seat across from the Mizukage's desk, placing the large, heavy file in my lap, My nose crinkled at the heavy musk smell coming from it, I can't believe I hadn't looked at this before, she had told me several times of the myths, but I just assumed they were…

Rumors? Or did I just not want to believe, Or was I too focused on everything else going on at the moment?

"The Haruno's originated from your village?" I questioned, irking an eyebrow at the redhead.

I watched her nod and take a seat, her eyes sharp and focused on the file, "What happened to the clan, The true story, I know you've read this file."

I short, humorless laugh escaped her full lips and she rested her chin on folded fingers, looking distressed, which made me worry more and more for the safety of Naruto and his team.

"They were murdered. Here before the village had even become whole, They were the only clan, and the first to start training as ninja, But once more villagers became self aware they trained themselves, the elder council decided the Haruno clan was becoming too strong, and they were wiped out, Sakura's grandmother, Daughter of the first Mizukage, took her to your village, and left her without a trace." She sighed.

My eyes widened, "What else?"

Her eyes flashed, I could see the disease and discomfort in them as she straightened herself in the chair.

"The Myths believe that the Haruno clan defeated a great god, Yama, God of death and to seal his power away they sealed it inside of a young woman, and from then on it was passed down, the owner becoming so self-hating that they gave it to their child, Sakura… Sakura was the last decedent."

"What- What are you talking about?" I snapped, feeling my mouth go dry at the ridiculous statement, which settled deep in my throat.

"I am not lying Tsunade, The Haruno clan had- They had a special Kekki Genkai, now ranked forbidden because of it's uncontrollable destructive purposes. It's the Black Fire element that only comes from their clan."

"Is there anything we can do to stop her- If it came to that?" I whispered, ashamed for even asking such a question, but if it came down to the village or her-

"We can only Prey she doesn't wipe every one of us out."

_**Ino**_

Damn that hurt!

I panted as Hinata finished healing my broken leg, I would have but I haven't been able to learn that completely yet.

Head of the Medical center and couldn't heal a bone, Says I'm damn good.

I looked at her, She thought she was so fucking perfect and strong, Just wait until I'm healed bitch, You just wait!

I stood in the panic, a little wobbly, my eyes were fixed on the scene before me, Sakura was… It was like she was dancing, smiling and laughing as she blocked every kunai, strike, and attack Shikamaru was attempting to land on her, It was like I was distracted from the whole scene.

I growled and chewed on my lower lip, I wouldn't make the same mistake as earlier, I would think now, I looked for openings.

She was moving so fast, I couldn't keep up with every movement, It looked like she was almost flickering in and out of existence, one minute being there when Shikamaru threw a hit, the other gone and deflecting Kiba's strikes, It was almost as if-

"Shit." I coughed as a strengthened punch came to my back, the blow had knocked the air out of me.

_**Sakura**_

I'm really getting sick of toying with these people, I watched as one of my shadow clones fought off Ino, and a genjustu that the genius Shikamaru was fooled by danced around the air. I could tell they were all getting tired, But I noticed Neji was watching, focusing on every movement, and couldn't help but wander if he had figured it out yet, and if so, why hadn't he told anyone yet?

My eyes turned to slits as I jerked to the side, jumping from my perch to a lower branch.

"You can't fool me, Sakura."

I scowled at the know-it-all tone Neji always seemed to have, and placed a hand on my hip, not really wanting to kill any of them, but I know if I don't I'll be stuck with those terrible bonds forever.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I questioned, looking at the Hyuga whose arms were crossed as he stared down at me with those milky-white eyes, the veins around them throbbing slightly.

"You would have countered me easily if I had given myself away." He said, flatly.

I just shrugged. Feeling my uncontrollable anger dying down as I focused, my eyes tingling as they took the familiar crimson I had hidden for so many years.

I could feel the tension as the silence grew around me, it felt like the walls were closing in on me, like the air had been sucked from around me as my vision turned black. I focused, the darkness didn't succeed, and I grew more paranoid by the second.

"Gotcha', Forehead."

I growled inwardly at the echoing noise around me, I had fallen into a trap.

"I've escaped from here once, what makes you think I can't now?" I sighed, growing seriously tired and sickened by these little games these pathetic Chunin were trying to play with me.

"I've mastered my clan's jutsu, You have no way out, Forehead."

I growled, Ino was really becoming a pain in my ass.

"Get out of my head Ino, I'm warning you." I snarled, Hearing the distant rattle of chains, and the devastating screech of sharp nails dragging across a cement floor.

"You can't scare me forehead." I watched inwardly, as she was fully transferred to my body, the single spotlight appeared, into standing in the center of my self-conscious.

"Ino. Get out of my body before you do something you regret." I warned, feeling the loss of control as the chakra started swirling in the blackness. I felt the panic slowly start to rise, if she remained in my body I could lose control and possibly wipe out this area for miles,

Hidan was here.

"What is this- This isn't the same… Something-Something's not right!" I watched her baby blue eyes widen, and the smug look disappear as it swirled faster, I watched her drop to her knees, a pained screech escaping her lips, She couldn't take the heat.

It wasn't even touching her- Yet. It was just the sheer power radiating off of Yama's body. I winced as the deep growl filled the silence, powerful and terrifying, The swirling black chakra solidified into a large black dragon, It's gleaming red eyes only lighting up it's face,

Ino was an insect compared to him.

"Sakur- Wha-… What is this!" She cried, trying to run, my eyes followed her through the blackness… She couldn't escape him, No one ever could. Even I.

_**Naruto**_

Something definitely weird was happening. We all seemed to stop fighting, Ino's body was limp, but a red was covering her skin, Like she was sunburnt, some patches bleeding, like she was being burned.

I couldn't do anything, even if I wanted to, I could only watch, Sakura's eyes were wide, but she wasn't looking at us, they switched expressions between smug accomplishment, to curiosity, to pain and then horrifying terror, her mouth would twitch like Ino was trying to speak, but couldn't get through.

I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want to hurt Ino and knock out Sakura while they were fighting… But I couldn't let whatever was happening happen.

I winced as the burning pain in my side seemed to rip through me, The world pulsed, and chakra started pooling out, The Kyubi-He was taking over…

But how!

_**Ino**_

I winced and sucked in a pained breath as I returned to my body, she had kicked me out- once again… How-How did that happen? What was that…. What the fuck is she?

"I-Ino are you alright, your skin looks-"

I slapped away Hinata's hands and scowled, my beautiful skin was blistered and boiled, That dumb bitch got lucky, but there is no way she could-

"Ino Watchout!"

My eyes widened as a wave of orange chakra knocked me back, Shikamaru dove just in time to knock me back, I heard the hiss of the chakra burning his flesh, and he winced, I noticed Sakura was panting, This was the perfect moment!

I heard Shikamaru gasp and cough from behind me, "Ino I N-Need help healing him!" Hinata gasped.

I looked at Sakura, then back to Shikamaru and shook my head, "If you can't even heal him on your own Hinata you are pathetic." I mumbled, charging at Sakura, Shikamaru's distant cried being drown out,

I would finally get what I want,

To prove I was-

_**Neji**_

This wasn't good, My eyes scanned the perimeter, Hinata was trying frantically to heal Shikamaru's bleeding back, obviously burned by the immense power of the Kyubi's chakra, but another, more powerful presence was here, A black fire-like chakra swirled around Sakura, and mixed with the Kyubi's, almost creating a whirlwind around her and Naruto,

I shielded my eyes from the flying debris as the chakra's increased, Sakura's body was emitting so much, her gates were completely open, and the dark power seemed like it would never stop coming…

Like it was limitless…

Something bad was about to happen.

I could feel it.

_**Hidan**_

Shit, Fuck, Shit this wasn't good!

Fucking shit, Madera is going to shit bricks when he hears about what's about to happen, Fuck! I scowled and watched from the treetops as the chakra whirled around her, It tossed her hair, and The demon kids chakra was mixing with it,

I scowled at the present I felt coming closer.

I fucking hate the Uchiha's.

"What's going on?" The little brat said, standing over me like some fucking high and mighty bitch, Lord Jashin would eat him for motherfucking breakfast.

"These kids are in for a fucking bashing is what's happening." I muttered, watching the chakra back away from the Kyubi's and return to her body, Her eyes the brightest crimson I had ever seen them glow, and demon kid had the chakra wrapped around him like armor, he took a crouching position, like a cat or some shit,

Sakura was just standing there, The corners of her mouth curled up in a sneer, as her eyes turned completely red, the cats-eye pupil disappeared and I could see the sharp, thick canines in her mouth, She looked like a demon princess, a true creation of Jashin.

I smirked and watched the fireworks below me begin,

Damn I love my wife.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: The beast within. **

**Kyubi: _This is how his speaking text looks_**

**Yama: **_This is Sakura's demon's text. _

_**Sakura**_

I was losing control, Stupid girl. She had nearly released him, I couldn't take this amount of power without losing myself either, I didn't want a re-make of what happened when I was younger, I closed my eyes, Feeling the sheer power radiating off the chakra that swirled around me,

I pulled it back into my body, Feeling it pulse in my veins was almost intoxicating, I sucked in a sharp breath, Feeling the intense glow of my eyes as I looked at Naruto, crouched on the ground like a cat about to strike.

His eyes held bloodlust and ferocity, Like a feral animal on the hunt, I couldn't help but smirk, feeling the sharp Canine's in my mouth softly rub against the inside of my lower lip, I felt so powerful. I had even drawn the Kyubi out.

"_**Yama, It's been all to long." **_

I arched an eyebrow at the distorted voice that came from within Naruto, although no one else seemed to hear it, It was an echo, moving through my head and chilling at my toes, settling a deep unease in the pit of my stomach, Could he hear my thoughts.

_It has, Kyubi. You haven't changed at all. _

My fingers twitched at the distant voices, I felt my body move against my will as I took a familiar crouching position, Me and Naruto looked like two animals fighting for our territory, Everyone seemed to be frozen, I could feel their eyes burning on me.

I could smell the burning as the black chakra swirled around me, leaves above hissing and turning to ash as they made contact, The Kyubi returned and the six tails formed. I yelped as I felt the chakra around my back, It had never done that before, I've always had full control, They turned into two, black glowing wings, Brilliant and beautiful.

"_**Oh Yama, I haven't seen your legendary dragon wings in quite some time now."**_

I wanted to flinch at the hiss of the Kyubi's voice, but my body remained out of my reach, In the night, The glow of red eyes and demonic chakra lit up the now burning clearing.

_**Hinata**_

I tried my best to finish Shikamaru-San's healing, But I couldn't look away from Sakura and Naruto-San, They were both so terrifying, I couldn't imagine the hurt he must be in right now, Having to fight against such a close friend…

Ino was lying on the ground, trying to heal a massive burn on her forearm, I scowled at the fact she didn't even try to help me heal Shikamaru-San, and I may not be an expert at healing, but I worked for my position, unlike her…

I frowned, shaking my head and with trembling fingers looking down at Shikamaru, He was panting and too injured to continue to battle,

"Hinata,"

I jumped at the hissing voice of Neji, but turned to face him, His eyes were glued to the scene before him, but reaching out to me.

"Yes?" I whispered, trying my best to be strong in this situation.

"Shikamaru is too injured by the foreign chakra, it's shutting down his chakra gates, Tsunade needs to hear about this, Help him back!" He growled, I could feel Sasuke's presence too, he knew how outnumbered we were, I couldn't leave them like this I just couldn't!

"Neji I-"

"Hinata. You may not be the hero of this battle, but you'll sooner be saving Shikamaru's life." He said, I turned to look at the Nara boy, His eyes were closed and his breathing was rigid.

I frowned and nodded, I wouldn't be much help in this situation anyway, and I surely wasn't going to stick around and let a comrade die.

_**Hidan **_

As much as I hated it we needed to leave before things got way out of hand, and it looked like we weren't far from that happening, Neither of them has said anything, but the look on Sakura's face told me something was happening.

I grit my teeth, Why the fuck would they let the Uchiha brat come in here when he was just a part of these little kids' fucking 'search party'? This could all be one big fucking set-up!

I watched the little brats move around Naruto, the one with blind-looking eyes took off with pineapple-head.

The blonde chick was starting to pick herself up, I snorted; She needed to learn a lesson anyway, and The kid with the huge disgusting smelling dog was with the other guy with fucking blind-eyes.

Yeah, and people say MY fucking eyes look weird, these kids looked like they should be dragging around cane's.

Sakura and the Kyubi brat still weren't moving, I felt my palms clasp into fists as I looked at the hunger in his fucking eyes. My hand twitched toward my scythe, Jashin would love the Kyubi as a sacrifice.

Suddenly the air was sucked from the area, and a blinding light appeared, the threes began to shatter, I shielded my eyes and jumped back, the chakras clashing sounded like thunder was ripping the air apart,

I couldn't take my eyes off the scene before me, and the Uchiha brat seemed to do the same, I watched the little group of freak-show brats start moving away, but I wanted to get closer.

They were blurs of seething black and orange, clashing, moving so fast they weren't visible, for miles trees were crashed and burning, It looked like a tornado had run through here. I could sense the other members nearing,

Hope they're ready for the show of a lifetime.

Fuck yeah!

_**Sakura**_

My mother always told me, That when a person wraps themselves in their own fear they will die a cold death.

I always believed it, not to fear who I am or what I was, until now, as I looked around in what seemed to be some ancient cadge, that was once holding the Demon that has been concealed inside of me for my life.

I could hear Naruto in the distance, or rather; I could hear his footsteps, he was searching for me, he was in here. In my mind. Had the Kyubi taken over as well? Were we damned into this realm of our own subconscious?

Were our fates destined to cross like this?

I chewed on my lower lip and stepped from the shadows, the puddles of deep, crimson beneath my feet splashing with each step, I waked closer and closer to the footsteps, closer to the answers he would never give me.

"Sakura?"

I froze at the voice, and turned, Naruto was standing to my right, several feet from me, his chest heaving, eyes a burning crimson, however the glow in mine put his to shame, his face was a twisted anger and hurt.

The same look he had given Sasuke.

I took a step forward; an empty step, with no intentions of running to him, or attacking him. Just the attention to move from the place I was before.

The anger flickered and died as he stepped forward, something I would have never expected to see on his face appeared, making me tense, and still. It felt like I was glued to the floor.

I saw hope, hope for this broken life that I used to live in his eyes. Hope I wasn't who I was, and hope I could end it for him.

"Sakura, Please…" He whispered, even he couldn't mask the hopelessness in his voice, as he outstretched a trembling hand to me, I wasn't sure if it was out of pain or hope I would take it, I made no attempt to move.

I couldn't go back, not after what had been done to my people, the section in the archives that Damned Mizukage ripped out.

"Please what?" I whispered, My voice was trembling, I felt the tears build up, none of this was his fault, it wasn't anyone's, and the people who were responsible were long since dead.

There was nothing more I would do at this point.

It took me two years to realize this. I wasn't saving the honor of anyone by running off and killing innocent people who most-likely had no idea what they had done. Is this how Itachi felt? Is this how I should feel?

I can't… I can't forgive them. Although I couldn't blame them, My knees shook and my head was filled with terrible voices of blame and hope, I fell.

I fell harder than I had ever fallen before, I clutched my head, the voices were burning at my eyes with painful visions of a past I had tried to conceal, and pushing me further and farther back in my own mind,

I was being kicked from my own head. I was being forced away from everything I had ever known.

The Sakura Naruto Uzumaki once knew, had long since died.

I was no monster.

I wasn't Sasuke, seeking an empty vengeance.

I was nothing. Lost between a past that happened before my time and a future I would never be able to achieve without destroying my last sliver of humanity.

I could hear Naruto, calling out to me from the distance, I could hear the voices, of the others. I could hear Hidan, and feel arms too big for Naruto picking me up, footsteps, and a soft pulsation of the ground moving beneath me,

Everything seemed like an echo, a distant sound to far from me to hear.

_**Little one. **_

I winced at the voice, unable to hear anymore, unable to drive myself to want to. The voice was softer than it usually was, but heard all too well to ignore.

_**Little one, You are safe. It is over. Your mate has you now, and will keep you safe little one, open your eyes. **_

I soon felt my sanity return, what was left of it anyway, and I was lying in my bed, I started leaning forward, but a gentle push to my chest motioned for me to lay back down.

My vision returned, and I looked up to see Hidan sitting on the edge of the bed beside me, His eyes seemed to appear almost lavender in the dimly lit room, His skin was pale, and a small splatter of blood rested on his cheek,

My heart picked up pace and I found myself trying to move from the bed, I pulsing wave of pain shot from burning flesh on my back and I fell, Hidan caught me inches from the floor, and gently helped me back into the bed, He was eerily silent.

The intense pain on my back was near to unbearable, and I needed to heal it although my chakra was far too low to do so.

"Don't be a baby, Just stay in fucking bed, alright?" The silver-haired man sighed, standing to toss on a loose black shirt and crawl into the bed beside me, no light entered our room, most likely due to the fact there were no windows.

I could feel it was daytime tough.

"How long have I been asleep?" I rasped, my throat feeling un-bearably sore.

"A couple fucking days, Fucking sucked. No one else can cook, You were secretly trying to kill us all by fucking starvation!" He whined loudly, draping an arm over my stomach as he plopped over onto his own.

I groaned, "Hidan, Will you get me some water?"

"The fuck do I look like-"

I turned my head to stare at him pleadingly, and he groaned and jumped from the bed, spewing profanities about Jashin, and how he wasn't a maid, all the way out the door.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched him go, I knew this was the best he could do in terms of affection.

"_Oh hell no! Motherfucker you stay away from-"_

"_I don't give a shit! She's sick! Fuck off brat!"_

"…_You will be my next sacrifice if you touch a hair on her head, Motherfucking brat!"_

My eyebrows rose at Hidan's words from outside the door, He was having a conversation with someone, although his voice was the only one I could hear through the thick marble walls. I rolled my eyes and watched the door open,

"Sasuke?" I rasped, Propping myself up on an elbow, hissing softly at the pain, I leaned back against the headboard, staring at the younger Uchiha, who was slowing inching toward me, like he was curious if I was going to attack or not, I almost wanted to chuckle.

"Are you… alright?" He said, flatly, but I could sense a small bit of sincerity, although it was a nice shot, I wasn't ready to forgive him, I doubt I ever could. I felt the unconscious anger boiling beneath my skin. Pushing it back I moved my bangs from my eyes.

I gave a simple nod and sighed, "Why did you come? I know it has more to do with than my well-being."

He resumed his stoic facial expression and walked closer, stopping near the end of the bed, "I was wandering what the odd chakra was- The chakra you used to fight against the Kyubi with."

I irked an eyebrow and stared at him, he seemed as genuinely curious as possible. I smiled a little at the thought that Sakura Haruno could have possibly taken his attention.

"I thought you would have figured it out by now." I said casually.

I watched his brows furrow for an instant, as if he was going to say something, but he silenced and looked at me as if I should explain it to him, I really didn't have the patience to sit here and explain something he could never fathom. It struck me as confusing at some moments, besides why would I-

I jumped at the touch of a cooled hand on my ankle,

"Don't touch me." I hissed, the jump had caused the burning flesh on my back to cause painful friction with my shirt.

He stood and held his hands before him in a peaceful manor, I suppose this would be the best apology he would give me, and I sighed, giving in to his curiosity, I suppose it was because he was finally acknowledging my strength.

"I am somewhat a junjuriki-"

"Somewhat?" He interrupted,

"Yes, _Somewhat_, interrupt me again and you won't get the answers you so desperately want from me." I snarled, clutching the black comforter in my fingers, trying to restrain my hate for the young Uchiha.

He just stared, so I continued,

", The junjuriki was passed on to me when I was very young." I said, my voice trembling softly at the memory, My clutch on the blankets became wary and I soothed back to reality.

I hadn't notice Sasuke get closer, or the tears that were now falling down my cheeks,

His hand was now stroking through my hair, The sickening touch caused me to flinch away,

"Sakura I'm just-"

"Don't touch me." I whispered, Eyes fixed forward with empty vision.

He reached his hand toward me again.

"I said-"

"Motherfucking brat, What the _fuck_ did I _just_ tell you?"

My eyes shot to Hidan who had Sasuke grabbed by his collar, who just snarled at the white haired man, my companion.

Hidan's teeth were bared and his eyes seemed to flare dangerously at the Uchiha, Who's crimson eyes held death and hatred.

"Sasuke. Get out." I said flatly, The Uchiha seemed to give me a disgusted glare before escaping through the door.

Hidan turned to look at me, His eyebrow twitching with irritation, he was attempting a smile, his body radiated fury, but his attempt was sweetly amusing.

"I love you." I whispered, reaching out to take his hand,

"I fucking love you too." He sighed, leaning down to place his forehead against mine, closing the beautiful pink tinted eyes I have become so used to over the years,

I patted the space beside me, Desperately needing someone to talk to, and Hidan was always my first choice in that situation.

He sighed and jumped into his place, shaking the entire bed, he lay flat on his stomach, fake buried in a pillow, one arm hanging off the bed, the other draped across my stomach,

"So Hime, What's on your mind?" He huffed, slightly muffled by the fluffy pillow.

"Hidan, What would you say if I wanted to convert to Jashinism?" I smiled,

In an instant the silver haired man was on top of me, squeezing me into a painful, smothering hug.

Through the profanities and joyous laughter I managed to loosen his grasp.

It wasn't what I wanted to talk about, although I had thought about converting for a long time.

In an instant Hidan had jumped from the bed, reappearing next to me with a crimson box, it looked old and fragile.

I looked at it curiously a moment, before he opened it and pulled out a pendant, exactly the same as his own. He draped it over my neck, smiling, and kissing my forehead repetitively.

"Sakura Haruno, You've fucking made me the happiest man alive!" He growled happily, He looked like he was about to jump out of his skin with pure joy, he was pacing the room and laughing,

I guess for Jashinists this was like a marriage proposal, I joked in my mind.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven; The Ritual**

_**Sakura**_

My bare skin felt cold against the dark marble floors, Hidan was silent and concentrated as he held the silver bowl of blood, a sacrifice he had made just for this occasion, The flesh on my back was healed, yet scarred, where the two brilliant wings once found home.

I expected lecherous, profane comments, I expected him to be perverted or something, I was laying on the floor of an empty room, completely Naked, the only light seen was a ring of candles around me, Hidan was concentrated as he sliced into his wrist, his blood almost a blackish hue as it spilled into the bowl of sacrificial blood.

He neared dipping two fingers into the blood before kneeling beside me, surprisingly he wasn't staring at my body, he was looking at the floor around me with great concentration. Slowly and precisely forming a ring around me, over my head, and continuing over my naked thighs, as if I was a part of the flooring, The perfect circle was formed, and he started with the triangle in the center, the lines stretching down from my forehead, as he softly pushed my bangs back, and the end of each line touched the opposite edges of the circle,

The line that made it a triangle went over my abdomen, I was perfectly still. My eyes wandered to Hidan, His hair wasn't slicked back, per usual, It was hanging softly over his forehead, his chest was bare and skin paper white, such as my own, slightly glistening with sweat.

His silver pendant seemed to glisten in the candlelight, and I became aware of the cooled silver of my own, hanging odd ways to the side, Hidan noticed and straightened it out, it now lay directly in between the space of my ribs.

Slowly he stood, his pinkish eyes looking down at me with excitement dancing in them, I watched him place the pad of his thumb over his tongue, and burn out two of the candles, dimming the light even more so.

I closed my eyes, and let out a soft breath of air, to nervous to move in fear of smearing the perfect symbol, which I was now a part of.

I felt some odd tingling sensation in my forehead, as I opened my eyes I nearly jumped at the intense glow of the symbol, it lit the room as Hidan took out the other two candles, and kneeled at my right side, his thumb placed firmly on my forehead,

I studied his free hand, and noticed there was a bleeding slit cut across his palm as he clasped on to the symbol of the pendant, His eyes an intense red as he looked in to mine, as my own instinctively took on the glowing red, the entire room looked to be bathed in the red glow of the blood symbol around me.

"Sakura."

It took me a moment to register the fact that he was talking to me, His paled lips seemed to form a smile as he looked down at me, remaining his crouched position at my side, his thumb still captive on my forehead, and his hand still clasped around the pendant, blood leaking from between his fingers and dripping onto my abdomen, I had to resist the urge to shiver at the look in his eyes; Excitement, pure, unsheathed joy.

Hidan was the pure being of Sex, Darkness, and Power, His toned, muscular chest seemed to beckon my lips, I tore my eyes from his form to stare into his own eyes, one hidden by thick, white hair.

"Sakura, You are about to meet Jashin." He whispered, his lips forming a perfect smile, although my heart began to race, I could feel the intensity in my pulse as my mouth went dry.

"Don't be afraid. It is an honor." He said, his voice deep and velvety, calming my nerves.

"I am not afraid." I voiced, calm and sure.

He gave a single nod. Before everything went black.

**X**

**S**

**X**

I felt a cool material under my back, slightly damp, I could tell it was grass, I felt the warm sunshine on my naked skin, I slowly opened my eyes, I squinted at the intense sun, and rose, I was unclothed, except for the silver pendant, still hanging from my neck.

I looked around, I was in… Some kind of garden, adorned with statues of what appeared to be people, well… as though they had once been people, they were now a brilliant white stone, roses veining up and wrapping around the statues, the garden seemed to go on for miles, I slowly took a step forward, and my body kneeled long before I had told it to.

_**Kunoichi, **_

My eyes widened at the thick, angelic male voice, tinged with something dark, and calming. I looked up slowly, and the sight before me was mesmerizing.

It was a man.

Well… Mostly.

He wore only tight, black pants, his chest bare, covered in intricate scars and black tattoos of symbols and vines, the most prominent was a large Jashinist symbol, right over his heart. He had long flowing black hair, hanging down to the center of his back,

His eyes were honey colored, rimmed with thick black lashes.

His features were sharp and beautiful.

But the most enticing were the pair of large, black wings, coming from his back, they were black and jagged, beautiful in a dark, forbidden kind of way. I couldn't find words to speak, My mouth was dry, and I suddenly felt very self-conscious in the presence of this powerful god.

_**Kunoichi, Do not cover yourself.**_

My eyes widened as a strong hand softly gripped my chin, bringing my eyes to his own. I felt the dark blush grace my cheeks as his eyes studied over me, like a specimen.

_**My, My you are beautiful. So dark, Kunoichi, Tell me; What is it you ask of me? **_

I froze, Hidan didn't tell me Jashin was going to… Ask me anything, and what was I supposed to ask him? Should I just be blunt about it…

"I-I have come to ask to join you." I whispered, unsure and positive at the same time, my emotions clashing with themselves as I spoke.

I watched the smile turn at the corners of his mouth, revealing white teeth, with two, gleaming canines.

_**I would be honored to have such a rare beauty as one of my followers, The dark power that surrounds you… It's wonderful, but kunoichi, I am a good being as well as a dark one. I feel as though you are pure of heart, so I have a special requirement to ask if you truly wish to join me, and drink in the eternal life. **_

I blushed and nodded quickly, enticed and intoxicated with his presence, all doubt of this god leaving my mind.

_**Kunoichi, For your sacrifices you are to only kill when the evil is present in the heart of your victim. If you kill an innocent, I will no longer allow you to serve me. I am fully aware of the immortality Yama allows you, he is an old, dear friend to me. So I shal protect your innocence. As favor to your soul. **_

I bowed my head, "Thank you."

_**Excellent, One more thing-**_

My eyes widened as his hand wrapped around my pendant, I felt the chain heat up, and the intense red glow surrounded me, blinding the image of the beautiful garden.

**X**

**S**

**X**

My eyes shot open, and I was found looking into the pink eyes of Hidan, sparkling and glistening with excitement. I slowly felt a smile tug at my lips, I was still lying on the cold marble floors, the blood still creating the symbol around me, as I slowly stood, revealing my entire body to the excited Jashinist, and realized how wide his eyes were, not with excitement, but with awe.

"Hidan?" I whispered, looking around nervously? Was something wrong with me?

He quickly scooped me up, still eerily silent, and carried me across the hall to our shared bedroom, and into the bathroom fluidly, placing me before the mirror, I now noticed what he was staring at.

_**Hidan**_

She was fucking perfect, She was perfect before but now- Damn! Fucking perfect!

Her skin was paler, but still beautiful, Her hair paler as well, the perfect resemblance of a cherryblossom petal, her body- I felt the throb in my pants as I looked at her naked form, Her waist was thin and frail, her full luscious hips, I felt my tongue run over my lips at the sight of the ceremonial blood smeared on her thighs,

Her breasts were large, and perky, small, pink nipples, begging for my tongue. I tore my eyes away, the pendant- The pendant once silver, now brilliant shining crimson.

Her eyes… They were the eyes of a woman, Her eyelashes were pitch black, thicker and longer, her lips were fuller, but paled pink, her cheeks rosy, and her eyes more brilliant, her bangs hung to the left, over her forehead, hiding some of the lines of the ceremony.

Jashin had accepted her… I could have her now… And Jashin would accept it. In his eyes Sakura was now cleansed, and I could take her as my own.

_**Sakura**_

I could feel his hungry eyes on me, and his arms snaked around my waist, I felt my head lean back on to his shoulder, I felt a cool hand caress my hips, in slow circles, the electricity ran through my hips, and my womanhood glistened with moisture.

One of his hands traveled upwards to caress a tender nipple, I moaned softly, His deep chuckle was prominent, and shook through his unclothed chest, I closed my eyes, biting down on my lower lip as he pinched down on the other, roughly, but for some reason, I craved real pain.

"Touch me." I breathed, a growling need behind my voice as my eyes took on the familiar, animalistic crimson glow.

I soon felt a single finger running up and down my slit, causing my clit to throb softly, I needed more, I needed… I needed intense pain to feel.

I soon felt myself being dragged to the bed, and with a single hard push, Hidan was thrown onto his back, Propping himself on a single palm he looked up at me, his eyes glowing crimson and hungry.

"I know what you need." He said in a deep hungry growl. I stood before him, the cool air of the room tickling my naked flesh.

"Then give it to me." I said; eyes boring into his. I was ready for the pain, I closed my eyes, and in an instant I was slammed, hard, onto the bed, Eyes still shut I felt him get off the bed, and walk into the closet, I could hear the rattle of chains, and as he spread my legs, he places a cuff on each ankle, clasping the opposite to the bed, and doing the same with my wrists.

They were chakra cuffs, I was spread across the bed, completely vulnerable to the silver haired man's rough, calloused hands. Yet my body yearned for something that wouldn't come, I could hear him shuffling through the closet again, and opened my eyes only to find that they were covered by a dark, black fabric.

"Hidan, Quit toying with me." I said, flatly, hungry, my body was screaming for attention, and pain, Oh Jashin I wanted the pain to come.

I heard no response, but gasped at the pain that erupted through my thigh, a blade, sliced roughly through it, my back arched, and I moaned, I could feel Hidan's soft, wet tongue rolling over the wound.

"Mm, Yes, Yes, Don't stop." I lolled, head spinning in ecstasy.

I ground my teeth at a stab wound to my abdomen, mirroring the place where Sasori had stabbed his sword through me, Moaning as Hidan ran his tongue over it once again, I ran my tongue over my lips, ready for more, needing more.

I felt one of his fingers running up and down my slit, my hot juices making his finger glide across my throbbing clit, his opposite hand was slicing small incisions along my collar bone,

"Oh Jashin don't stop!" I cried, my body tingling with the foreign sensation.

I felt his teeth clamp down on my thigh, one of his fingers ramming in to my core, I screamed at the painful sting of my thigh, and the wonderful pain of his rough finger.

Soon, he started traveling up my body with gentle nips, before I could feel the weight of his knees at my sides, and his unclothed manhood, hard against my stomach as he leaned over me, sucking softly on a nipple, pinching the other roughly.

"You like this bitch?" He breathed, I could feel the smile on his lips as he continued licking and sucking at my nipple.

I started grinding my hips against his in response, His manhood was huge as I felt it twitch violently, and his sharp intake of breath.

Soon his hand ran softly down my abdomen, and between my legs, he began slowly rubbing his finger in and out of my dripping, hot core. I raised my hips off the bed, as a sign that I wanted more, my moans were making it almost impossible to speak.

I felt his dark chuckle once again as slowly he removed his finger, lifting it to my lips, I poked my tongue out, wrapping and rubbing it against the finger, tasting myself on it, Hidan slowly moved the single finger past my lips, I continued to wrap my tongue around it, lapping and sucking,

"Mm. Is that what you want to do to my cock?" He laughed, although the hard throb of his manhood told me he wasn't joking. I grinned,

"I want to taste your cum, Hidan." I purred sensually, I got exactly what I wanted, a hard jerk of his groin, and a sharp intake of breath.

I soon felt the spongy tip of his cock rubbing against my lower lip, I smiled and opened my mouth, allowing it to enter, it was hard, I rubbed my tongue roughly against the head, sucking and lapping up the pre-cum, Hidan's hips were rocking roughly forward into my mouth, Hitting hard against the back of my neck.

I hummed softly, and heard his appreciative groan as the vibrations shook through the head of his thick, long cock.

I soon felt him tear his cock away from me, and another chuckle rumble through him as he slowly began rubbing it up and down my slit, I rocked my hips desperately forward, but he denied me.

"Fuck Sakura, You're so wet." He chuckled, I growled and he continued his dark chuckling, "Tell me what you want bitch, and I'll give it to you." He whispered roughly into my ear.

"I want you to fuck me," I purred.

And that's when I got it, Slowly he tried pushing himself in gently, but my virgin core was too tight, so in one, hard, thrust waves of intense pain and pleasure rippled through me, and Hidan's teeth clamped down on my shoulder, one of his hands pinching a nipple, the other pinching my clit.

He started rocking in and out of me, and all I wanted was more, I rocked back against him,

"Faster," I breathed through moans.

"Mm. You like this bitch, You like my cock in you?" He whispered roughly in my ear, normally his profane language would irritate me, but right now it made me want more of him, and every inch of his cock in me.

"Yes." I moaned, feeling him rock harder into me, growling ferociously as he picked up pace, I could hear the headboard hitting the wall as he slammed harder into me, his thrusts creating a wave of pain, and intense pleasure.

My stomach was tight, and juices were dripping down my legs, coming from my heated core, I felt my back arch, and Hidan's thrusts became more animalistic, more needy.

"Fuck me!" I ground out, eyes tightly clasped,

"Fuck I'm gunna' cum!" He growled, His finger on my nipple tightening roughly, pushing me over the edge, Hidan's cum filled me, pushing me deeper and deeper into the orgasm.

I panted, I was exhausted, My entire body felt slack, and tired, soon the clamps were gone, and I pulled the blindfold from my eyes, looking at Hidan beside me, his chest glistening with sweat, and blood, I looked down at my own body, white cum dripping down my legs, and my body had dried blood caked on it, the small wounds Hidan inflicted were now long since healed.

Suddenly his arms were wrapped around me, His face nuzzled into my shoulder, my eyes were wide with surprise, this was the last thing I expected from him, of all people.

I closed my eyes, and leaned in to the embrace, Pressing my lips to the top of his head, and pulling the blanket up and around us, leaning over to turn out the light.

"I love you…"

I smiled at the annoyed, but happy voice, "I love you too." I smiled.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve; A Befitting Sacrifice**

_**Sakura**_

I sighed and rolled over, staring at the ceiling above me, I couldn't sleep, I felt like I had forgotten something, like without this 'something' I couldn't sleep. I groaned and clutched the blankets to my chest, covering my still naked skin.

I growled and tossed, trying to get comfortable, which wasn't about to happen. I finally gave up and crawled from the bed, sheets still pulled around me as I stared at Hidan, Sleeping peacefully, I'm not surprised he didn't wake, his body is familiar with my chakra, he would have awoken if it had been anyone else.

I blinked my blurred eyes and walked into the bathroom, dropping the sheets at the doorway and climbing into the black marble bathtub, turning on the hot waters. I winced at the unexpected heat and adjusted the knobs so the warm water drummed softly on my skin, steam rising from the cold air.

I ran my fingers through my long hair, loosening a few tangles that had formed through my tossing and turning in attempts to sleep. I gently washed my skin with some scented oils. It felt wonderful.

I closed my eyes, the longing feeling still resting in my brain, I growled, it felt like I was being deprived of something, I need a cigarette.

A soft sigh escaped my lips, and I turned off the water, stepping out of the tub, head slightly dizzy as I stood there, water dripping from the ends of my hair, my slightly newer appearance still startled me, but it felt like I was blessed in some odd way, I shook the thoughts and wrapped a crimson towel around my body, walking back into the bedroom, and shivering at the cooled temperature.

I looked at the bed, it was empty, I arched an eyebrow before I felt a warm hand grip the towel, and yank it away, I grinned, spun around, and wrapped my arms around Hidan.

Something didn't feel right, Hidan was a little shorter, and his chest was clothed, I blinked a moment and stepped back, before quickly covering myself with the towel,

"What the fuck are you doing in my room Uchiha!" I ground out, My entire body in defense-mode. I had just… I felt sickened at the thought, unconsciously wrapping the towel tighter around myself in a failed attempt to hide as much skin as possible.

His features were eerie in the candlelight, his sharringan eyes glowing as he looked down at me blankly, the same stoic aura surrounded him, I couldn't help the sickened sneer that formed on my face at his silence.

"Madera wanted me to come check on you," He said flatly, His eyes flickering to the door as it swung open, a loud, groggy yawn sounded though the room.

"I'm fucking tired, What's for breakfast- _Why the __**fuck**__ are you in here_!" Hidan growled, suddenly becoming aware of Sasuke's presence.

"You can tell Madera I'm just fine." I sneered, backing away from him as my primal instincts caused my eyes to turn to the animalistic crimson.

Something was different though, Sasuke's body was surrounded by a gold-like glow, outlining his body, I blinked and rubbed my eyes a moment, before looking back and seeing the same glow outlining his figure, his eyes boring into me curiously, yet flatly, he gave a slight shrug and walked from the room,

"The fuck is with that kid?" Hidan sighed, walking around the room, I was stuck staring at where the young Uchiha once stood, I turned to face Hidan, who was staring at me, openly confused at what I was doing.

I could see the same golden glow coming off of Hidan, I felt my chest beginning to rise and fall drastically, and stepped back, shaking, before my back slammed into the wall behind me, I looked down at my shaking hands,

There was no glow around me.

My heart was racing, but I pushed back the anxiety and slowly slid to the floor, letting my breathing regulate, and my eyes return to jade, as I looked back at Hidan, who was now kneeling beside me, His eyes looking concerned and confused.

"You alright bitch?" He asked, His hand rubbing soft circles into my back, he wasn't glowing anymore.

'Must have been a trick of the light' I thought, trying to push back the thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I breathed softly, Shutting my eyes to catch my breath for a moment, it felt like I was losing my mind.

_**That's the sign little one. **_

My eyes snapped open, Yama had been silent for quite awhile, it startled me slightly, but soon faded and a puzzled expression found home in my features as I tried to recollect what he could have possibly meant….

The sign?

I pondered the thought a moment before my body tensed, could this be a gift from Jashin? Did this tell me the pure of heart? How could I know what the gold glow meant? Did it mean… Good… or evil?

_**Gold is Holy, little one. **_

My body shivered at the voice that rang through my head. It did make sense, but what would signify darkness? I sighed and returned to my feet, pushing back my thoughts as the painful longing swelled in my chest once again.

"…Cigarettes…" I mumbled dropping my towel in annoyance and searching through the drawer in the nightstand as I searched for the pack of cigarettes that resided there.

I pulled one from the pack before placing it on the dark mahogany nightstand before pulsing the black chakra and lighting the end of the cigarette, closing my eyes as the paper burned and filled my mouth with the rich, thick taste I had become accustomed to over the years.

Hidan was shuffling through the closet, grumbling profanities as a stack of boxes fell over onto his side, as I pulled on a pair of crimson boyshort underwear and re-wrapped my black bandages that covered my breasts, tossing on one of Hidan's oversized black T-shirts.

I felt two strong pale arms wrap around my frail waist, loose white hair tickled my cheek.

"Aren't you fucking beautiful?" He mused, pulling the cigarette from my lips before inhaling deeply and returning it to my pouted lips. I rolled my eyes as the foreign cigarette hung from my lips I pulled on two black knee-high socks, and escaped from the room.

The cool air touched my unclothed thighs as I walked through the long stretch of hallway, I usually traveled around the base in my underwear, no one really minded, or was bothered enough to tell me that is.

I hissed as my back was slammed into the hard marble walls, My eyes turned to slits as I looked up at Sasuke Uchiha, Sharringan activated as his hands held my wrists to each wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He said flatly, I rose an eyebrow, genuinely confused at his incredulous actions.

"What are you-"

"Why are you walking around in a headquarters full of S-class criminals… indecently?" He said, his voice held a tone of warning as his stoic face looked down to me.

I scowled and with ease broke his grip on me, inhaling the deep smoke before turning away from his gauze,

"Who are you to talk down to me? You are nothing but a power-whore," I chuckled, walking a few paces forward, freezing mid-sentence,

"You go to the closest thing that will make you feel powerful, but you've never really worked for it, have you? That little curse mark of yours must make you feel quite powerful, but deep down you know you're a _weakling_." I hissed, continuing to walk down the hallway, it was a long stretch, and there were many more to go through to get to my destination.

I sighed and dodged to the right, avoiding the sweep of his katana, and with ease dodging each swipe of his sword, soon I started to tire of his games and grabbed his wrist, he dropped to the ground, sliding beneath me and with one sharp kick to my ribs I was sent into the dark stone wall.

I groaned and rose to my feet, spitting the blood that had pooled in my mouth from the broken ribs to the stone floors beneath me, and quickly wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth with a grin, Maybe he wasn't a complete weakling.

My eyes flickered to the Uchiha, he was looking at me, his expression was expected, eyes blazing with anger as his chest rose and fell with his deep pants of frustration. I smirked and watching him curiously, it certainly was an interesting sight,

He charged, disappearing and appearing in blurs around me, I heard the marble crack as I dodged one of his punches, sending his fist flying into the hard stone, as he ripped it free I was already attacking the nerves in his spine, immobilizing him for a few hours, I must admit. He was fast, but I was faster.

"Hey Hime- I thought you quit smoking, Yeah."

I gave a sigh and a shrug to the blonde artist as I continued to balance the cigarette between my lips, only burned about halfway through, although the haunting need for something I wasn't aware of died down, I had a feeling it would return later.

"Old habits die hard." I chuckled, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a strawberry from a bowl. Dei just sighed and shrugged as I took a seat at the table, Kisame must have been asleep or something, poor guy.

Dei seemed to notice my curiosity and he set down the small clay bird he had been toying with and leaned his head in his palm, the fatigue was obvious in his blue eyes..

Naruto's eyes…

I growled as my head throbbed painfully, clutching softly at my hair.

"Kisame's on a mission with Zetsu, Yeah. Madera-Sama wants to see you by the way." He winked, I only rolled my eyes and stubbed out the cigarette and left the table, walking down a separate hallway towards Madera's office.

My head throbbed painfully once again and I hissed, pulsing some healing chakra into my head, which would have easily wiped out a headache, but simply turned the agonizing pain to a small annoyance in the back of my head.

I knocked softly on the door before entering, I paused slightly to push back the accelerating pain as I took a seat on the corner of Madera's cherry wood desk.

"Hello blossom." He smiled, spinning around in his black leather desk chair to face me, admiring the changes to my appearance.

"You look wonderful. I like your rosary." He winked, I paused, remembering the crimson chain hanging from my neck, I looked down, it matched perfectly with the red and black accents of my… Outfit? Or whatever it could be considered as.

"You said you wanted to see me?" I yawned, stretching out my arms, I didn't notice the rush of tiredness that swept over me until my eyelids became heavier by the moment, and my limbs felt slacking and sore, I blinked it away, and pulsed my body with chakra.

The tiredness subsided.

"Aa. Yes, I wanted to talk to you, about Sasuke." He said, quietly, his velvety voice almost seemed… Hesitant to speak. That would be a first of Madera Uchiha, what could possibly cause him so much distress? It chilled me to my fingertips to think about.

As he sighed I felt my fingers curl around the edge of the desk in restraint, my body felt tense, yet calm. The longing need was back- and everything started to make sense.

Sacrifice.

I needed to make my first Sacrifice.

The word chanted over and over in my head, each time sounding needier and louder, echoing through the back of my mind, echoing through my ears, causing them to ring and steal the focus from my mind.

"Sakura?"

I snapped back to reality and turned to look at the elder Uchiha, Whose eyes were fixed on my hand, which had broken off the edge of the desk in my unconscious death grip. I felt the blush creep up on my cheeks and released the hunk of smooth wood, I gave him an apologetic look and brushed the chips of splintered wood from my hands,

"Sorry, A lot on my mind." I whispered, trying desperately to re-gain focus on my mind.

"It's quite alright, I believe I understand your... Predicament, and I believe I can arrange a mission for you and Hidan that could suit both of your needs." He smiled, placing a large file on the desk, It felt with a plop and caused my body to tense and jump due to my strung up nerves.

"You look exhausted, here."

I looked at what Madera had held out in his hand, it was a small, round blue pill. I looked at it a moment, questioning weather or not it would be a wise decision to take it. Madera wasn't the most loyal companion, but the look in his eyes told me it wouldn't be a wise decision to defy him, It wasn't often he offered help, of any kind.

I smiled politely before taking the small pill and placing it on my tongue, and swallowing, the bitter taste remained in my mouth a few moments, before I felt an odd, soothing pulse shake through my body, My eyes widened a moment, and primal instincts to protect myself sank in, My eyes turning their uncommon crimson shade as I looked over Madera I could see it, The sickening bluish-grey radiating from his body, A sick corpse-y color.

A small smirk appeared at the corner of my mouth, 'Who could have guessed, Madera Uchiha isn't as noble as he lets off to be.' I thought sarcastically, feeling the energy pulse through my body once again, I let out a small breath that was being restrained in my chest,

I sighed, "I'm sorry, I've been jumpy all morning since Sasuke-"

"Aa. Yes, Sasuke." Madera said, a small smirk present on his face as he rested his cheek in his palm innocently, his crimson eyes staring up at me.

"What about him?" I said, looking away angrily to stare at the back wall of the office.

"Don't be like that Hime. He's just being… Well, Who he is. I would appreciate it if you took him along with you and Hidan today, He hasn't yet gone on a mission, and I would like nothing more than to get the three of you out of here a few days while Zetsu and Kisame look for your little friends." He said calmly.

I felt my fists turn into balls as my crimson nails dug into my skin unconsciously, I tried like hell to keep the pooling chakra inside, it was working so far… How dare Madera send Sasuke on a mission with me, he knows how I used to feel for him. Sasuke could be a threat to the entire organization!

"I don't want to hear anything about it, Go find Sasuke, Fix the damage you put upon his nervous system, gear up, and leave." He said sternly. There was no bargaining with this man.

I jumped from the desk, giving him a single glance as I left, slamming the door behind me.

**X**

**S**

**X**

"…Stupid fucking Uchiha's… Stupid fucking mission…. Stupid fucking son of a-"

"Hidan." I sighed, rolling my eyes at his constant mumblings of profanity as we packed lightly for the possibly extended mission. I looked down into my backpack, surprised at most of what I had packed were weaponry, I usually didn't carry so much, Just my-

"Hidan!" I gasped, eyes looked frantically around the room, "Where is it!" I growled, pushing aside Katana's and axes and chains from the back of our closet, where could it possibly be?

"Ehem."

I turned to see Hidan smiling triumphantly, leaning over onto the massive bladed sword. I smirked and gripped the monstrous bladed weapon and sat on the corner of the bed, wrapping the black bandaging around the pin sharp blade before tossing it around to rest sideways on my back.

I wore my Akatsuki cloak, that ran slightly to my mid thigh, Beneath I wore one of the Shirts Itachi had given me, a little loose, but the same as his own, and tight, black shorts hidden beneath my cloak, My hair was pulled into a ponytail that swayed just below the center of my back, hanging over my bandaged sword positioned there.

"So- Are you fucking pumped?" Hidan Said as he positioned his scythe on his back.

I smiled, Popping a cigarette between my lips, "Of coarse. I just hope everything goes smoothly." I chuckled.

"Are you fucking kidding me? What could go wrong? You've got me!" He laughed.

I smirked and opened the door, leaning on the heavy material as I awaited Hidan to follow me.

"Let's go find the fucking brat." Hidan sighed, walking beside me down the stretch of the hallway.

As nothing but smoke trailed behind us, I couldn't help but find humor in this situation.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen; Damn Uchiha Brat**

_**Hidan**_

If he looks at her one more fucking time… Jashin give me the strength not to rip out his spine with my bare hands and strangle him with it.

That little fucker looked over at her every mother fucking time she breathed!

I felt my teeth unconsciously grinding in my mouth, Why the fuck did we have to drag this brat around with us anyway! Stupid little fuck with his stupid fucking snide little punkass attitude.

I glanced to Sakura, Who looked more beautiful than ever, Her eyes were sharp, scanning in every directions as we traveled through the thick forest, They seemed greener today, The thick black lashes made them look almost glowing, her pale lips were in a line, she was concentrating super fucking hard, but why?

I sighed, I was fucking starving. We hadn't eaten since like… forever.

_**Sakura**_

I was about to scream, it was like a crazed longing was eating away at me. Should I- Do I tell Hidan? Does he already know? How the fuck am I supposed to walk about a village with my eyes activated? That would draw a shit ton of attention! Am I supposed to just grab someone off the streets and drag them away? I can single handedly kill a thousand men on a single mission, but I fucking can't figure out who I should use for a sacrifice? What the fuck!

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying my best to ignore the cross Uchiha's stares, but they were really starting to piss me off. What does he have to be disapproved about?

What room did he have to talk? We were here for the same reason; revenge, we just drove ourselves in different ways, I embraced the bonds that made me stronger, Such as to Hidan and the Akatsuki, while he did nothing but push them away,

I found my mind wandering off to my days in Konoha, Days under the hot sun watching Naruto and Sai spar, never asking me to join, and if I trained with one of them they could never take me seriously, If I had used a flicker of the power I possessed today I would have-

I sighed softly behind the collar of my Akatsuki cloak, which hid most of the lower half of my face, I was starting to sound a lot like a particular power crazed Uchiha.

Hadn't I just come to a 'revelation' about my revenge? I wasn't as weak as Sasuke, I didn't blame anyone now, and the generation of Shinobi who killed my family has long since died.

That certainly didn't mean the leaf no longer disgusted me, or that damned Mizukage. I would never forgive them, but I wouldn't lash out and strike without being provoked. If the Hokage sends one more search for me, I can promise I won't hold back.

I found my fists clenching and unclenching inside of my cloak, hidden by the long sleeves, fingers itching to yield my sword. I smirked; My beautiful blade would put the Seven Swordsmen to shame.

I could feel us getting closer and closer, I started going over the mission in my head, thinking about how we would do this effectively without drawing much attention to ourselves. It wasn't a hard mission, we were to go in and kill a wealthy lord who had Akatsuki information.

We would be funded for about two months while we studied the area, plenty of time for me to stock up in foreign plants to create poisons.

What were me and Hidan expected to do with Sasuke trailing along with us? This had to be uncomfortable for him. I wander what Madera's true motives were, this couldn't be a test of the young Uchiha's skills… It couldn't be for him to get a feel for Akatsuki behavior either, Perhaps it was to scare him into loyalty, and if that was Madera's master plan it wouldn't work, Sasuke was to pigheaded to realize a dangerous situation.

I found myself looking at Hidan, who had a crazed, rough look on his face, I wanted to chuckle at the sight, but resisted. He didn't like Sasuke being with us any more than I do, but disobeying Madera didn't go along lightly.

I sighed, my feet were getting heavier. I was becoming tired. Which I found odd, We had only been traveling for a few hours, and I had gotten a decent amount of sleep before we left, but something was making my limbs heavier.

I felt an odd chakra presence flare behind me, and found myself and my team jumping for higher branches as the paper bomb hit the ground.

I hissed as I lost my footing and had to catch myself on a branch. "Hidan, Sasuke!" I called out, knowing they had gotten far enough away to avoid the worst damage of the small bomb, It was amateur at best, So we were most likely falling into the trap of robbers or we were close to some lords mansion.

Either way I needed to find the culprits or we would continue falling into their genin level traps until they ambushed us, which would blow our cover and the entire mission would become a failure.

I grit my teeth, I could feel Hidan and Sasuke nearby, Sasuke was in a branch twelve meters away, He was scoping the area with his sharringan from what I guessed, and Hidan took to the ground six meters from the tree I was perched in,

I let out a small sigh, at least they were both alright. I had plenty of chakra for an ambush, I just didn't want to ruin the mission only hours after our depart from the base, That would be most embarrassing.

I swung from the branch I was hanging on, and landed gracefully on my feet below, Standing beside Hidan, who was leaning lazily onto the tree trunk, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed ahead of him.

"Who do you think put down the trap?" I sighed, Eyes scanning the area he was looking in to, I could sense at least a Chunin level chakra presence, easily dealt with, but a little odd for the simplicity of the trap.

Something odd was hanging in the air, It wasn't a genjustu, something that was making our actions slowed, our senses dulled considerably for the level we're all on, I noticed this when all three of us were oblivious to the trap ahead of us.

"Do you feel that?" I said, The air felt thicker, Something wasn't-

Oh shit.

"Hidan! Sasuke! We've got to get moving now!" I gasped, starting my decent into the deep forest, moving further and further ahead, I could hear Sasuke and Hidan's sandals thudding into the earth behind me.

"What the fuck! What's going on!" Hidan growled, speeding up beside me, The air was considerably becoming regular, my limbs were less stiff and they began moving of my own accord, My head was still foggy and fatigue remained, but I was starting to revive my dulled senses.

"There is a vine plant that grows only in the land of Tea, where we are in the vicinity of now, It emits a deadly sleep agent that shuts down the internal organs, I picked up on it a few miles back, but didn't think much of it, We must have treaded through it on our way through the higher branches, we all need to bathe, Soon to get the spores off of our body's so the effects don't continue." I panted, My lungs were getting sore from running without break, I suppose if Kakuzu wasn't on a trip to Suna he would carry me,

I missed the cheap ass, He had been gone for almost two months now! I chuckled at the thought of what he could be doing for so long, 'Stealing the hearts of all the women!' I thought, chuckling at the dark joke.

I figured there must be a bath house or inn nearby, We were traveling by a common route for salesmen and civilians.

"Shit Sakura, why the fuck didn't you tell us earlier!" Hidan said, I could sense the irritation bubbling beneath his dull humor, Wandering if the effects of the poisonous plant was taking an effect on his immortal body.

I could certainly feel it's effects on mine, My eyes were about to close, and my head was thudding painfully as if deprived of fever sleep, Even Sasuke with his stone, stoic features looked focused on keeping his body under control.

I tried to think of what I head read about the plant; I had it in a botanicals poison book at the base, I chewed on the inside of my cheek as we continued through the thick forest, However slower and more exposed it would be much safer for us to travel this way, I wasn't sure how far back the plantation grew, or how long the effects lasted,

I did know however that it constantly released vapors into the air, carrying it's spores, considering that most of out journey had been traveled from higher branches, we must have a decent amount of exposure to the plant,

I needed to stop and give a medical examination to both Sasuke and Hidan, (Who would give me a hard time about it.) Including myself, I thought to what I had brought with me, I had decided to travel somewhat lightly for this mission,

I had sever antidotes to several exotic poisons in a scroll inside of my cloak, Two Shurriken, Several Kunai, which mostly ended in disuse considering how I favored my sword, several soldier pills and a katana.

That was plenty enough for this mission, I could acquire a sample of the poisonous vegetation we had passed through on the way back, and start on an antidote.

Everyone was silent, scanning the area for chakra signatures but finding none, I could feel us nearing a civilian village, not our destination but we needed somewhere to stay soon so I could make sure the after effects didn't become serious.

"We're staying here for the night." I sighed, nearing what I assumed to be was supposed to be a gate, I couldn't sense any chakra signatures, This village must not be home to any ninja.

That means they wouldn't know who the Akatsuki were, and didn't have access to a bingo book, again; Hopefully.

"Are you sure? This place looks like a shit hole." Hidan whined, sighing heavily, I know he wanted to rest as much as I do, He just didn't want to act it in front of the Uchiha, who simply muttered a 'Hn.' Before turning away and shoving his hands into his pockets. I found it quite amusing Madera hasn't accepted him into the Akatsuki yet, considering he seemed keen on keeping the younger Uchiha.

As we entered the village we were greeted with the sound of children playing in a stream nearby, It wasn't as nice as Konoha, but around the same structure, yet smaller. We soon found ourselves sitting at a food stand buying dango, Sasuke didn't look pleased, but ate them plain, I felt my face give a sour look to the plain dumplings.

Hidan however liked sweets, such as I, So our orders came out the same a mix of sweet and spicy dumplings. I normally didn't prefer spicy foods, but I didn't mind much. It actually was really good for such a simple village, and we ate quickly, the old man that ran the shop was friendly, although he was giving Hidan odd looks as he scarfed down the food before him.

I rolled my eyes at Hidan's eating, it reminded me of how Naruto used to-

What the hell… I felt my eyebrows rise at the odd thought, That was a weird thought, a never thought about any of them, Especially in a fond, friendly way.

I shook the thoughts away as I plaid the bill and started walking for the inn we had rented a room at, Madera hadn't given us much funding, so it was a single room with two beds, My cheeks reddened unconsciously, I had a feeling I was in for an uncomfortable night, Sasuke was silent the entire way here, I assumed it would stay this way, while hidan wined and spewed profanity at the people who gave him odd glances, I had to drag him away from terrified villagers at least five times now.

I felt the relief wash over me as we walked into the air conditioned Inn, I could tell my body temperature had risen slightly, not enough to cause concern, just enough to tell me something was wrong.

"I need to examine both of you," I said, using the room key the elder woman who owned the inn had given me earlier today, although she was slightly hesitant, money was money and she wouldn't deny us room.

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled, taking a seat at the end of the bed closest to the window, Claiming it as his own I suppose, his onyx eyes watched me curiously as I neared him, I could hear the springs of the bed opposite to his protest as Hidan plopped onto the white bedding, giving a heavy sigh.

I neared Sasuke cautiously, not out of fear but not wanting to invade his personal wall more than I already had, I outstretched a hand, placing it on the side of Sasuke's head, showing him what I was doing and placing another hand on the other side, closing my eyes.

His hair was surprisingly soft beneath my touch, and I almost jumped at the soft sigh that escaped his lips, without missing the protest of springs and the growl that came from the bed beside us,

I sighed and pulsed chakra into Sasuke's temples, feeling for glitches in his system and signs of sickness, I chewed at my lower lip, stepping away from him.

"Hidan, I need to check you as well." I sighed, hoping Hidan's results were much better.

I looked nervously to Sasuke who was staring at me curiously. I chewed on my lower lip as I placed my hands on the side of Hidan's head, finding comfort with the soft white locks between my fingers.

I probed my chakra through his system, checking for any signs of illness, surprisingly finding none, His system must have been stronger then I thought, however he still needed to get the spores off of his skin before they sank in.

I gave a sigh and stood before them, "Sasuke, Stay here, You're too sick to move, Hidan, Head to the-"

"No. Fucking. Way! Hell no! I am not leaving you here with the fucking brat!" Hidan Snarled, jumping to his feat before I could say anything, I just sighed and turned to look at him,

"Hidan, He's too sick. You need to bathe now or both of us will be in big trouble, I need you to watch him while I get into the bath so I can clean and check my own health." I said, staring into his ferocious eyes, he gave the Uchiha one more glare before nodding and escaping through the door, slamming it behind him.

"Alright Sasuke, You need to lie down." I said, rubbing my head, I was feeling really tired all of a sudden, I wander if…

_**Sasuke**_

I jumped to catch Sakura before she hit the floor, I sighed and sluggishly scooped the small girl into my arms, being careful not to pull on her long hair as I held her into my arms.

I gently placed her on the bed , closing my eyes to try and regain control over my body, It felt like I was nearing unconsciousness I needed to get the spores off of my skin or the venom would continue to seep through my pores, from what Sakura said at least.

I took one glance at her before walking carefully from the room, closing the door behind me, My head was throbbing painfully, I wasn't sure what would become of my illness, but it wouldn't cause implications to my health.

I sighed and cursed the heavier the breath carried in my lungs as I passed through the hallways until I was certain I came to the bath house portion of the inn, walking into the changing room I stripped myself of my clothing, wrapping a towel around my waist and walking into the cool air, steam rising from the decent body of water, I sighed and sat on the ledge closest to the wall that separated the men's from women's bath.

My body loosened and I closed my eyes, trying to drown out the obnoxious headache which had surfaced as soon as we started traveling.

I sank deeper into the waters, the water was relaxing the knots between my shoulder blades, I found myself in a defensive stance, eyes activated.

"Sasuke-Kun?"

I froze, Masking my chakra as quickly as possible, I knew that wouldn't do anything to hide my presence, but perhaps she would-

"Yeah, Now that he's gone I guess he's shackling up with Sakura." I heard a loud, female voice reply, I scrunched my eyebrows together, wandering where I had heard the voice before, I continued to eavesdrop on the conversation, listening to the kunoichi oblivious to my presence.

"What? No way! I mean- Sasuke-Kun wouldn't do that to me! He loves me!" Karin replied to the unknown kunoichi. I rolled my eyes at the conversation.

"Sakura does that to people, She would have tried to get with Shikamaru if I wasn't so pretty." The other voice replied, I assumed it was the Yaminaka, how could she have recovered from the attack not even a few days ago?

"Sasuke-Kun wouldn't do that to me." Karin whispered, I heard a disapproving snort from Yaminaka and rubbed my temples, I thought the blonde was Sakura's friend or something. I found myself sickened at the thought, there were no friends in the shinobi world.

"Sakura definitely isn't even in our league, She wouldn't come close. Sasuke would never go for that, no matter how desperate he would get, he could have gotten me as kids! I mean, seriously, He would never stoop so low as to touch Sakura, she's a total slut!" Laughed Yaminaka, I found my fists clenching and unclenching at the sound.

Suddenly the voices hushed, and I could hear the wading of water, they were directly on the other side of the wall, I could still hear them perfectly well as she whispered,

"When we were with Orochimaru, Sakura was brought in a few years ago, and These guys broke in and took her, but before Kabuto went to steal her, I heard some… _things_." Karin whispered, I found myself listening to the conversation through curiosity,

"What kind of things?" Yaminaka gasped, quite loudly might I add, It's surprising this girl hasn't been killed yet, the only reason she hasn't been a victim of my katana in the past few seconds is because I was craving the answers to my questions that Sakura wouldn't give.

"Orochimaru wanted her for his vessel, because something happened to her real clan, all that remained was her grandmother, apparently, her and one of the Akatsuki members were from the same area, and she has some kind of evil bloodline or something." Karin whispered,

Soon the two girls broke out into a fit of giggles, as if they had just told a joke,

"Yeah right! Sakura's nothing special!" Yaminaka chuckled,

"You're probably right, her chakra presence felt weak." Karin said, although the nervousness drifting behind her forced humorous words seemed to hang in her voice.

"Yeah, the whole reason I got stuck on this shitty mission is because we ran into her and some white haired guy a few days ago!" The Yaminaka whined.

"I guess.. So, what happened?" Karin asked, tiptoeing around the words.

"Well, first thing you know we run into her, she seemed like she was all like, possessed or something, her and Naruto were going all out, and next thing you know her and Naruto were passed out! Everything went pretty crazy though." Yaminaka sighed.

"Is that where you got this burn?" Karin said,

"Yeah," Yaminaka sighed,

"Fucking son of a- Hey brat! What the hell are you doing out here?" My body tensed as the white haired man came crashing through the doors of the dressing room, towel wrapped tightly around his waist.

I felt my sharringan activate as he sank into the waters, outstretching his arms and yawning.

"Shit kid, calm the fuck down." He smirked, closing his eyes and heaving a heavy sigh.

I found myself staring at the wall opposite from the one I was already staring at in frustration. My fingers twitching as I resisted the urge to attack, yet kept my sharringan flared. I should tell him about the leaf nin that were here, however I only sensed Karin and the Yaminaka girl, most likely on a simple mission.

"You're as quiet as the other brat, But Hime actually liked that one!" The silver-haired man laughed, I felt the tommas in my eyes begin to spin as I tried to contain myself.

I soon found my hand wrapped around his throat, slamming him hard into the concrete, I snarled, tommas spinning.

His eyes flashed, And I felt him throw me off, I jumped back, catching myself on the waters. Using chakra in my feet so I could walk across the steaming waters, wavering slightly at the steam fogging my thoughts.

I dodged a kick from the silver haired man, catching his fist, and throwing him back, he caught himself in a crouch atop the water,

"Sasuke! Hidan!"

My attention was caught by the pinkette now standing in the doorway, leaning against it as she panted, her face flushed, she looked sick, and pissed. The dark purple rings that appeared under her eyes were present as her eyes flashed dangerously,

I grit my teeth and looked over at the wall where the two kunoichi once were, hoping they didn't hear-

"Sasuke-Kun?"

Suddenly I turned attention to the scarlet haired girl who was now standing behind Sakura, chest heaving as she looked at me with crimson eyes full of tears. I snarled and looked to Sakura, who was now in a fighting stance, only covered by a small towel.

"Fucking son of a bitch!" The white haired man growled, in an instant he had his towel tightened around his waist and Sakura scooped into his arms, I snarled at how he held her, but bit back my anger to turn to the scarlet haired girl as she raced forward,

I dodged her embrace and quickly caught her in a genjustu.

"We need to get out of here, fast." I said, eyes still locked with Karin's. Who figured she was in some sort of forest, lost. Soon enough she fell over unconscious, I sighed and picked her up, placing her out of the water so she wouldn't drown.

I scowled, stood beside the two teammates who had been sent with me on a mission. I knew the Yaminaka was somewhere around the inn,

"The blonde is here too, I'm not sure if any other nin are around, I couldn't sense any other chakra presences." I said, using my sharringan to scope the area, I couldn't see anything.

"Hidan, P-put me down. We need to- to keep moving." She hissed, clutching her side, I irked an eyebrow, and watched as she placed a glowing green hand over her body, Her skin slowly re-gaining color, cheeks becoming less flushed,

My vision blurred slightly and I cursed beneath my breath, however it wasn't my sharringan, I stepped forward, but my leg gave out and everything went black.

_**Sakura**_

I rushed to Sasuke's side, and wrapped an arm under his own, Hidan was soon helping me lift the Uchiha up, my body was still under strain, but we could make it to the next village soon if Sasuke's body started to heal properly.

As soon as we had made it back up the stairs and gotten dressed, Sasuke still in his towel on the bed, I turned to Hidan, who was packing up his mission supplies while I emptied Sasuke's body of toxins, the worst part was over, all that remained was a fever, although that was better than death I suppose.

"Me and you are going to search the area, Sasuke should be awake by then, and we'll set out to leave." I grumbled, I was looking forward to staying in a comfy bed tonight, but the woods would have to suffice I suppose.

Hidan grinned, "While we're at it why don't we make some sacrifices? It'll make you feel so much fucking better!"

I thought about it a moment, a sacrifice didn't generally take too long, I nodded once and slung my sword over my shoulder, watching Hidan do the same with his scythe.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek nervously, taking a look at Sasuke's sleeping form before escaping through the door with Hidan, Sasuke's breathing was regulating, but he would be sick for a few days, Hidan would have to suck it up and carry him.

"Fucking hell this is going to be fun!" Hidan beamed, his fingers twitching with excitement, It made me smile as I watched him jump around happily.

I sighed and folded my arms behind my head, staring up at the starry sky above us, It was mostly silent at this hour, few people were outside besides a few men coming from a pub, and late night ramen stands.

I activated my eyes, still slightly startled by the golden glow that seemed to-

"I want that one." I said, eyes drawn to the same disgusting aura as Madera, rolling off of one of the men from the pub, His eyes red as he started cornering a woman that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hidan nodded to me before jerking his head in the direction of an alley nearby, I followed as we seemed to disappear into the blackness of the alley, it was silent, and the crickets in the background seemed to illuminate the surroundings with a serine aura,

I could hear the stumbled footsteps of the group of men nearing, I watched Hidan bounce around happily and close his eyes, breathing in heavily as if his head was rolling with ecstasy.

I chewed on my lower lip, and reached around my shoulder to grip the handle of my sword, it seemed to radiate electricity as my fingers wrapped around it.

"Now." Hidan whispered, suddenly he reached around the alley, grabbing the friend of my target and clapping his hand over the mans mouth, the man thrashed viciously, and my target reacted, reaching for me as if to hold me hostage, I slipped beneath his drunken swipe and gripped him by the hair, yanking his head backwards so his back arched in my direction, clapping a hand over his mouth.

He thrashed but with two chakra enhanced arms to hold him down, I grunted as he attempted to elbow me in the stomach, I kicked him hard into the side, he fell over, howling a druken curse.

I grabbed my wrist, and sliced a sharp line across, hissing softly before the blood started pouring, I allowed my wrist to move freely, forming the Jashinist symbol that hung freely around my wrist,

"Sakura, you need to injest a little of his blood," Hidan said, standing in the center of his circle, laughing and groaning as he stabbed into himself, listening to the mans cries of pain, the pleasure running through Hidan's body could be seen in waves, as his skin took on the appearance of a skeleton, I wandered if that was how my own would appear.

I looked down at the drunken man, who was trying to crawl away, clutching his side, I sliced a small incision with my sword across his back, being careful not to cut him too deeply with the massive crimson blade, the swipe of the air could be heard, and his cry rang in my ears.

Something was pumping pour through my veins, pushing any kind of pain of fatigue from my system as I stood proudly in the blood seal of Jashin, I hoisted my sword neck to me, it dug into the earth and towered by my side, almost the same height as myself.

I fan my tongue up the blade, surprised that the taste of the mans blood was sweet, and the intoxication that ran through me as pleasure caused my body to convulse softly, I had to lean on the large blade from falling over.

My body felt like it was on fire with pleasure. I looked down at my hands, marveling in the color, My skin was black, crimson lines swirling and wrapping around every inch, I breathed in deeply, my body felt as powerful as ever, even with Yama's chakra racing through my veins this was the most incredible high I'd ever felt in my entire life.

"Fuck yes!" Hidan screamed, delivering a blow to his own thigh with a kunai, I trembled as I sliced deep into my abdomen, watching it appear on the man's chest, he screamed, and the intense pain turned into a pumping fire through my veins, I found a moan escape my lips,

Soon enough I was slicing small and large cuts through my skin, not severe cuts, I growled and sliced harder and harder through myself. The high intensifying with every cut, soon enough I was screaming from sheer bliss,

I dropped to my knees, blood pouring from my body and making the dirt around my become muddier, I was panting, a grin stuck on my face, as my wounds began to heal my body felt invincible, I now lay in the Jashinist symbol, Slowly starting to love the religion more and more as I looked over at Hidan, a grin on his features as he leaned against the wall of the alley, His eyes glowing with excitement and desire as he looked over me.

I bit back a blissful scream as I stood, a was practically overflowing with chakra, I placed a cigarette between my lips, surprised the pack hadn't drowned in blood as I lit it and inhaled the thick, rich smoke.

"We have the rest of eternity to fucking revel in Jashin's awesome presence." Hidan said, smiling down at me as he outstretched a hand, I grinned and found myself giggling, kissing him hard on the lips.

I pulled back and smiled, cheeks flushed with pleasure and the sheer power that radiated through my veins.

"When can we do this again?" I smiled, wiggling around excitedly.

His grin slanted to a smirk, "As soon as we go get the brat and move on to the next mission."

Soon we were racing back to the inn.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen; A Division of The Soul**

_**Sakura**_

Something was going wrong; I coughed softly as I continued Sasuke's physical, Hidan left to speak with a client of the Akatsuki's about the outerlay of the manor we were going to take down.

Sasuke's health wasn't improving much, He was still feverish and his body still fatigued, His skin had lost a great amount of color, almost mirroring the color of my own.

"Take a deep breath." I said flatly, my hands firmly over his lungs as I pressed chakra in to probe the function they were using with each inhale and exhale.

He did what I asked, and I couldn't find any implications with his vitals, which is what irked me the most, His signs were worse than that of the common cold, although his vitals held around the same effect,

His body wasn't fighting off the illness. His chakra should have expelled most, if not all of it at this point, but I couldn't find what was wrong, and it was making him increasingly sick.

I chewed on my lower lip as I felt his onyx gauze on me; He was obviously frustrated his condition wasn't stabilizing. I knew I shouldn't have been irritated with him, But since my first sacrifice I ached to go through another, the experience… It was just wonderful, like the most fulfilling ecstasy imaginable.

I turned to walk away from the bed where Sasuke rested, but found my wrist caught in his grip, I arched an eyebrow at him, was he in pain?

"Sakura." He said, voice slightly strained, I sighed and took a seat at the edge of the bed, there wasn't much else I could do exactly, I wasn't going to abandon him while he was in this condition, I still cared for him, no matter how much I claimed that I didn't, He was still my first love.

"Yeah?" I said softly, watching him stir restlessly, I knew how infuriating it must be for the stubborn Uchiha to be unable to fight.

"I need to know. Why?" He rasped, his eyes locked on mine, I let out a small sigh, looking out the window, the moon high in the sky. Is it any of his business? Would it be wise to tell him?

"Sasuke," I said softly, "I'm not like you, and I'm not like… _them_."

I could feel his eyes scanning over me, I know it wasn't an explanation, I know it wasn't enough for him; He never could have imagined I was… this. He grew up with a weak, deadweight girl who had yet to realize the secrets to her life, but I couldn't bring myself to pour my life story out to-

"You know, you remind me a lot of my mother." He grunted, as he heavily lifted himself to lean against his headboard, I reached out in alarm to stop him, but he shooed my hands away, I just stared, waiting for him to finish, a little awed that he would make such a personal statement.

"She was always trying to protect me and my brother, from what our father was, a power-greedy man. She made excuses, and showed us kindness to an extent I have never experienced within anyone but you, Sakura." He coughed, turning to stare out the window, I could only sit silently, folding my hands within my lap,

", but there is one thing that divides you from her. She never allowed the past, to cut her away from what she knew to be right."

My head snapped up, and jade clashed with onyx. Was he- Was he trying to-

A small, humorless chuckle escaped his lips, "You know, I always tried to justify my wronged actions against the leaf with the fact that once I killed my brother, I would have done the right thing, It took the death of my brother to realize I have let her down."

I found myself leaning forward, "You haven't let her down!" It squeaked from my lips before I could stop it, I guess compassion was in my nature, I would always possess the heart of a medic, created for healing.

His onyx eyes turned to slits as he stared at me, a chill running through the room, a small blush formed in my cheeks at my oddly compassionate response to the Uchiha's grief, I returned to my seat at the end of the bed, awkwardly looking away.

"My mother would never have stopped loving my brother, or myself if we had done something even as horrendous as he did, as long as it was to protect our village." He scowled, I sank softly, feeling out of place, and somewhat, wrong.

Something in me was awakening at his words, am I doing what is right? Was it his place to decide if I was? Was it mine?

"Sasuke," I started, staring at my feet, that were now glowing with the moonlight that was now streaming through the windowsill, ", I can't justify what I do. I don't try to. The bitterness I feel will not falter with truth, I will carry it to the afterlife with me. Some things cannot be forgiven."

"Who are you to say that?" He said,

I felt a humorless smile grace my lips, my bangs falling over my glazed jade eyes, "It's human nature to feel grief, hatred, remorse, bitterness, and it's inevitable for me to feel this way, although I no longer desire to bring an end to the leaf. I desire to bring an end to the shinobi way."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped, gasping at the pain that came when he jumped. I figured this reaction from him, It sounded bitter, and unfair I suppose. I'm not sure he saw what I did. He was forced to see his family die, but their deaths were quick, humane. I watched the genocide of my entire clan, who were proud, strong people, reduced to nothing.

"You couldn't even begin to imagine, Uchiha. You act like you could, But you can't. I watched the unjust death of my entire clan; I was thrown into another village to be raised by complete strangers. Fearing the powers that resided within me, and now, I've learned who my true enemies are." I hissed, clenching my fists to keep from shaking, the images, the images were here… I could- They were playing again, and again.

"How dare you!" He growled, "I watched my mother, my father, my grandparents… Everyone I had ever cared for die before my eyes! You didn't even know your clan! You- You didn't have to come home to see the bodies of your loved ones. How dare you say I couldn't **understand**!"

I felt his grip on my biceps; I could see the subtle slip of a single tear, from maddening crimson eyes. For some reason, my anger had bubbled down, I felt empty, and the images no longer hurt me, what was missing? Something inside of me was gone.

I stared within his eyes fearlessly, "Would you like to see what I see? Go ahead, enter my mind, I know you can. I want you to see, I want you to see what separates us."

He looked hesitant, but the moment everything went black, I could feel his influence within my mind.

_**Sasuke**_

As I activated my sharringan to enter her mind, I felt no resistance, was she not afraid of the things I could do? I could torture her for hours within her own mind, I could rip apart her confidence, her drive, yet she fearlessly allowed me in.

Was it due to the state I was in? Did she think for a second that I was too weak to control my own Kekki Genkai?

I snorted at the thought, and searched for her memories.

That's when it hit me.

I wasn't intruding inside her mind, she had allowed me in, I was suddenly unable to push back into her mind, however I could feel her influence,

I could see only what she allowed me to see.

Damn it. How was this even possible? The sharringan was virtually flawless, wasn't it?

A scene had cleared through the blackness, It was a large courtyard, filled with blooming cherry blossom trees, Beneath them sat men and women, deep in meditation, They all bore the Haruno crest.

What caught my attention was a single man, who seemed to radiate power, He had flowing lavender hair, and looked like he was in his early twenties. As he opened his eyes, it felt as though he was looking right at me, they were honey colored; they held something that resembled compassion, and wisdom.

"Lord Sagomichi?" A woman said, approaching the man, He gave her a simple nod. So that was his name… Sagomichi Haruno.

"M'Lord. Some people have requested to speak with you, they hail from the village." She nodded; she must have been some kind of servant.

The man stood, and gave a small bow to the others that were meditating; I walked after him, obviously going unnoticed by the others, considering I was looking into a memory. I followed the man through a long hallway.

Soon he turned into a room, where two men sat waiting for the Haruno Lord, who sat across from them, giving them a small bow,

"How may I help you?" Sagomichi nodded, the two men looked old, with thinning white hair, and traditional robes, worn by wealthy scribes.

"The Mizukage requests your leave of this village." The elder man said, I watched as Sagomichi's eyes turned to slits, and the honey had turned to a dangerous crimson, this seemed to bring panic to the men, because they had hopped to their feet in preparation to run.

"The Haruno clan has resided here peacefully for centuries, and as your village made home here we did not disturb you, as your village trained shinobi, we did not attack you. What right do you have to ask our leave?" The once peaceful lavender man sounded calm, but something dark resided behind his words.

The elders seemed to calm, and took their seats once again, although the slight trembling was obvious.

"Your clan in threatening the safety of our people, we ask you come peacefully, or perish." The men warned, I awed their bravery in asking such a ridiculous demand, Even more so that Sakura hailed from a village outside of the fire nation.

"We have never entered your village; those who have come from your village seeking proper training and employment reside here, _safely_."

The men stood, the older of the two shaking his head sadly, Sagomichi remained seated. His eyes still the dangerous glowing crimson.

"If it means my clan may live in peace, I shall sacrifice my life to prove our intentions contain no harm to your home."

I was taken aback by the words I was hearing, Was Sagomichi going to sacrifice himself in order to provide peace? Tch. Sounded like a Haruno. Foolish and impulsive.

The men froze, and smiled. "Wise choice, Sagomichi."

And then everything was black, once again.

Another scene became vivid before my eyes, I was standing on some kind of stage, and Crowds of people were cheering, but why…

As I turned I saw the lavender haired man kneeling over a block of wood, and a faceless executioner raising a large bladed scythe…

I watched as in one swing, the mans head fell to the ground, the same stoic empty expression remained upon his face. The crowd cheered louder, how could these people accept the death of an innocent man?

I watched one of the elder men who met with Sagomichi before his death appear,

"Storm the Haruno Manor!" He cheered, a fist raised to the air, I watched as thousands of civilians and Nin began scrambling away, holding fire-lit torches and weapons.

I followed the crowd, sprinting to keep up with the bloodthirsty villagers. Why were they doing this? What had the Haruno clan done that had been so unacceptable that an entire clan was sentenced to death?

As they reached the great stone walls of the manor villagers began pounding upon the gates with a large log, trying to break down the gates, Although no offensive attacks were given from the Haruno clan. I stepped through the wall, considering I was simply watching a memory, I could do that.

Inside the manner the Haruno's were still meditating, seeming unfazed by the villagers attempts at entering the manor, even small children looked deep in meditation, Slowly, four men stood, and walked to all perimeters of the stone walls, one in each corner, slowly they raised their arms, A large crimson barrier surrounded the courtyard.

So this was their defense? A barrier wouldn't hold forever, they should know that, they should all be fighting, or escaping, something, anything! Why were they all just standing there?

Something about their response made my blood pump with adrenaline.

And that's when the villagers invaded,

Blood.

Blood was everywhere.

It was silent though,

Why weren't they screaming,

Why were they letting this happen?

Why-

The connection broke, and I found myself pinned to the bed, The white haired buffoon snarling above me.

_**Sakura**_

Shit, the connection was broken prematurely. This was having bad repercussions. The only reason I believed that was because I could feel Hidan's death-grip on _my_ forearms, as he was pinning _Sasuke_ down.

"Hidan! Stop!" I gasped, He seemed to not be able to hear me, but I felt the painful blow he administered to Sasuke's face, in my own, I gasped and fell to the floor, a hand clapped over my cheek, which drew Hidan out of his blind rage, as he crouched beside me,

"What the fuck!" He gasped, probably seeing a bruise forming on my cheek, "But, I- What the **fuck**!" He gasped, looking between me and Sasuke.

"You broke the connection of our minds, so I suppose Sasuke and I are linked." I growled at Hidan, popping my jaw back into place as I propped myself up on an elbow, Sasuke was scowling, and had pushed himself to his feet, outstretching a hand to help me up, But Hidan had smacked it away, hooking an arm around my waist, and pulling me to my feet.

"This is all your fault! Fucking little brat!" Hidan spat, drawing his hand into a fist and lunging at Sasuke, who grabbed Hidan's fist, and twisted it behind the his back,

"Are you an idiot? You're only hurting Sakura when you attack me." He hissed.

Hidan looked like he was about to blow up, so I grabbed his arm, and pulled him in my direction, positioning myself between the two men, who looked prepared to kill each other. 

"Listen, I don't fucking like this situation any more than either of you, But we need to calm the fuck down, so I can try and find a way to fix this, besides, we all have a fucking job to do, remember?" I snarled at the two, who remained locked in death-stares with each other, but nodded mindlessly at my words.

I found myself grumbling angrily, and snatching my pack of cigarettes from my backpack, and heading out onto the balcony to smoke.

I felt… Filled with rage, for no reason, I felt betrayed, and there was some kind of odd pain, like my heart had dropped to my stomach. Why did I feel this way?

Were these Sasuke's feelings?

"Damn it all!" I growled, stomping my foot a little too hard, and finding myself falling.

"Fuck-"

I looked up to see Hidan looking down at me, His hand clutching my wrist, pulling me back into the Hotel room, "I'm gunna' have to pay for that." He sighed.

I shoved his chest playfully and smiled, "Thanks for saving me, dick."

A small smirk appeared on his face, "You're welcome, bitch."

I noticed Sasuke was no longer in the room, which is probably why Hidan was being so… affectionate. Well- Affectionate for Hidan anyway.

I watched Hidan step closer, and wrap an arm around my waist, and felt a small crimson blush cover my cheeks as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine.

"I hate that fucking brat." Hidan growled silently, I chuckled and leaned against the sliding glass door.

"I dropped my cigarette."

_**Sasuke**_

I could feel her.

I scowled as I leaned against the thick tree in which I was sitting in. I couldn't be in the presence of that man for more than a moment. I still couldn't understand the link with mine and Sakura's minds.

It was odd, and not only because of the odd aftermath, but the fact that my sharringan didn't phase her. It felt... It felt like she allowed me inside of her mind, like I was being pulled in, She lulled me in to looking in on… Was it a memory? She couldn't possibly have been alive when that happened, so how did she acquire such a vivid picture?

Was it an illusion? The hatred she held toward the leaf surely wasn't an act, so she obviously believed that that was truly what happened, and who am I to say it didn't,

In less than a week I have learned amazing things about a girl I had grown up with, worked side-by-side with as I child, and yet… None of us truly knew her; none of us truly knew the life of Sakura Haruno.

From the small amounts of information I have gathered, she is powerful, very powerful, the day with Naruto- Something irked be about that, I don't feel like I even got a glimpse of the power she possesses. For Sakura Haruno to strike fear into my mind was infuriating,

But fear of the unknown was expected. Never before have I felt such power, Her chakra seemed to overpower even the Nine-Tails, and the way she yields it… She controls it, better than Naruto ever has, It isn't triggered by emotion like the Kyubi, A small smirk played on my lips for a moment,

Sakura _was_ always excellent with chakra control.

How long would she have played innocent before her secrets surfaced? What would have become of her if she had remained in the leaf? Would she have carried her secret to the grave? Would she have left the village regardless?

Questions, Questions, Questions. With no answers, my blood boiled for answers I would never receive; perhaps Madera would have answers for me, although he seemed too fond of Sakura.

Oddly.

Everything's seemed to have changed, in the worst of ways,

For once, Sakura is the strongest member of team seven, or has she always been? Perhaps she only played innocent, to keep up her façade, to keep her secret. I'll never know.

A fit of coughing forced its way up my throat, I was feeling weaker by the moment, Damn this. What was wrong with my body? Why was it being so weak? I didn't understand. I could endure hours of training, I could yield immense power, but I couldn't fight off a simple illness.

As another cough choked its way up my throat I growled.

Suddenly, I became overwhelmed with… emotions.

Frustration.

And then, I kind of throbbing, in my-

I snarled, unable to control my natural male instincts. Not wanting to imagine what was going on with Sakura and the Imbecile back at the Inn.

As tiredness overwhelmed me I groaned, great, She must be sleeping now, which means I must be tired. Fucking perfect.

I sighed and crossed my arms, closing my eyes as I leaned back further against the tree.

Soon sleep took me.

**X**

**S**

**X**

"_Sakura!"_

_I jumped at the unusually loud voice, Looking around, who was calling for Sakura… and… and where was I? _

_It was a hallway, dimly lit, The walls were a brilliant red, I searched for some answers, by slowly walking down the hallway, but froze when I heard the padding of little feet, and suddenly, I felt a figure run straight through me, I turned around quickly, eyes wide with surprise to see a small, maybe a five year old girl, with… with pink hair? _

_Curiosity got the better of me and I followed her down the hallway. _

_I was lead into a small kitchen, Seeing the small pink haired girl facing away from me, standing beside a woman with waist length white hair, She was an older woman, In white robes, The Haruno symbol in crimson on the back, She was washing dishes. _

"_Yes Grandma'" The young girl said softly, her voice was so… Innocent, so young. I only watched in awe, they didn't seem to know I was there, but something in the back of my mind told me I shouldn't be seeing this, but that's what drove me to continue watching. _

"_I'm going to take you somewhere today." The older woman said, turning from the sink as she did so, I caught her eyes, although she wasn't looking **at** me, but **through** me, as if I were invisible to her. Her eyes were a brilliant evergreen. _

_The little girl cocked her head to the side, and I caught a glimpse of the side of her face, It- It was Sakura… Well… Not the Sakura I knew now, but a smaller Sakura, With short, curly pink hair, she was wearing a white sundress, a faded blue stuffed animal rabbit being held by a long ear in her small hand. _

"_Where Grandma'?" The little girl asked, obviously confused by the older woman's' words. _

"_It's called Konohagakure. Sakura, I am getting old, and can no longer care for you," She started, kneeling before the smaller version of Sakura, and placing a hand on her shoulder, looking into her teary eyes, "Listen to me Sakura, Never- **Ever**, let them see your gift, Sakura. No tears. Do you understand me?" _

_The little girl sniffed, and wiped her tears quickly, nodding vigorously to the woman. _

"_Yes Grandma'." _

_And then everything was black, I was confused, was I dreaming? Was this a dream? Something wasn't right. _

**Get Out. **

_I looked around at the loud, oddly vivid growling, it- it didn't sound human, it was distorted, angry, not angry… seething, it sounded so real-_

**_Get Out_!**

I thrust forward, my ears still ringing from what I had just heard. What did the dream mean? It- it was so vivid, like- like a memory, but… but one of Sakura's. I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen something personal.

And that voice…

Through this connection I have with Sakura… Is it deeper than we thought?

_**Sakura**_

I lunged forward in bed, my chest heaving and body covered in cold sweats. That dream- Where did that come from? I haven't even thought of that day in years, I was so young, I- I haven't been able to remember in so long.

And Yama. Who was he screaming at? I've never heard him so… Enraged, and now… He was so silent, was it all just a dream? Was- Did I imagine the end? Impossible… My ears were still ringing, I looked over to Hidan, who was grumbling sleepily for me to go back to sleep.

I sighed and laid back into the bed, pushing back my thoughts, and trying to return to sleep, but I had this feeling,

Something wasn't right.

**XXXXXX**

**:D I'm BACK!**

**Love, Sakura-Centric**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen; Memories**

**(A/N: I know I bolted through the last chapter, not giving much detail or explanation, but I've been really, really busy lately with y'know, Life and stuff.)**

_**Sakura**_

I stretched my arms, the dream I had the night before had irked me, but all of the information Hidan and I collected today was excellent, and Sasuke seemed to be doing better, as well as Yama's calming silence, today was turning out great, I even managed to map out the 'Highly guarded' manor, Highly guarded my ass, half of them were asleep.

Rolling my eyes I calmly walked to the table in the corner of the small, stuffy bar, I could hear Hidan trailing silently behind me, as well as Sasuke, both in foul moods, Well, Sasuke was trying to be in a foul mood, but my cheerful attitude had swept it away through our connection,

I'd figured out Sasuke could feel what I could, emotions, and physical pain.

It wasn't completely unbearable, it seemed Sasuke was more overwhelmed by it than I, I guess because he was inside my mind, it meant he was more sensitive to my own feelings, which dominated his own.

I actually found a little bit of humor in the situation, I like watching Sasuke's irritated little faces he made when a wave of excitement or cheer hit me. It made his stoic act a little harder for him I suppose.

I plopped down in the small, shabby chair and Hidan sat beside me, Sasuke across from my seat, looking irritated, but I could see my own excitement dancing in his own eyes, A person could never lie with they're feelings, at least, if you knew where to look.

A waitress approached our table, she had on a tight strapless dress, revealing her overly-large bust, and short brown hair, Her eyes locked on Hidan, The visible lust in her eyes as she licked her lips, and leant forward, obviously trying to get Hidan's attention, I almost chuckled at the way he ignored her,

"How can I help you?" She purred in his direction, completely ignoring Sasuke and I.

"Aa. Yes, you can stop trying to seduce my husband, and bring me a bottle of Sake." I smiled, seeing the irritated scowl cross her lips as she looked in my direction, flipping her hair angrily before twitching away.

I could hear Hidan's roaring laughter as he draped an arm around my shoulders, "Kitty got claws."

I chuckled, "and little patience, your point?"

He snickered and stretched his arms, I could hear the little pops and crackles from his sore muscles, Hidan had been out most of the day looking for information from sources of sources from sources, on a wild goose chase, while I mapped out the perimeter of the manor, Sasuke rested most of the morning, and he began feeling better after I dropped off some medications I whipped up out of herbs I found, they seemed to be working well, although they would work better if I had happened to have access to a lab here, but I don't.

My eyes wandered to Sasuke as Hidan excused himself to go to the bathroom, well- Excused himself in his own special way.

"You know, loosening up every now and again won't hurt anything, Sasuke."

His eyes rested on me and he shrugged, "We're on a mission."

I couldn't help the eye roll that followed his statement, "Fine, remain unhappy, I don't really care, but at least drink so it drowns the annoying nagging of your feelings."

He seemed to stiffen and snarl at my words, I felt jolts of anger and hurt rush through the connection, and countered them with equal anger and a hint of warning, making sure he knew not to step over his boundaries.

The connection took a lot of energy out of both of us, Even if it was something we couldn't control, it was tiring.

The brown haired woman returned and grudgingly placed the bottle of Sake before us, and three glass cups, I grabbed the bottle and took a harsh swig, ignoring the incredulous look from the busty woman as my eyes wandered to Sasuke, who looked a little awed himself, "Did you want something?"

A small, audible 'Tsk.' Could be heard, and he shook his head in a 'no' movement, I just sighed and watched the woman stare at Hidan's empty seat for a mere instant before catching my eyes on her and scurrying away.

"I see you I inherited the Hokage's drinking habits."

I looked up to see Sasuke with a small, controlled smile on his face, At least he was trying.

I chuckled softly, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Do… Do you ever think about when you lived in the village?" Sasuke said softly, unsure, I could tell he was testing to make sure he wasn't crossing any boundaries; I appreciated the effort, and took another drink from the bottle before me.

"Sometimes, I think of the good times, Like Kakashi always being late, or when we were all in the academy, dreaming about becoming ninja." I chuckled, the memories bringing a smile to my face, I allowed my mind to wander, something I hadn't done in a long time.

"I remember, but this definitely wasn't what we all had in mind." Sasuke sighed, his eyes wandering off to the wall behind me, deep in thought obviously.

It was true, This was never what we had expected it would be as kids, We assumed we'd all get strong, strong enough to prove ourselves to our friends, family, all of the people who were stronger than us.

We never thought we'd end up on the other line of the village we had served as children, mere children, playing adults.

"This was never what I had in mind." I found myself whispering, He gave an empty nod,

"I never thought I'd be returning to… Well, To practically the same place I'd spent most of my childhood, working beneath a dark powerful man who only wants me for my abilities."

I sighed and nodded to his words, "I never thought I'd be working beside you."

"Sakura… How did you come to possess such power?" He whispered,

I felt a small smile appear on my lips, "Well… The story goes…."

_***The Story Sakura is currently telling,***_

**A fine Maiden, Lady Haruno, walked through a thick, dark forest, collecting herbs to heal her sickly lover, **

**Lady Haruno was a fair maiden, With long flowing cherry blossom colored hair, and flawless alabaster skin, eyes as green as the forest. She was a healer, one of the best, her and her lover, Namimaru, lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of a large village. **

**Her lover had fallen ill, and was bed-ridden, she refused to allow him to die, So she gathered her courage, and ventured deeper into the forest than she had ever done before, hoping to find something, anything to save him, **

**A melodic humming came from Lady Haruno as she walked through the forest, but little did she know, her beautiful voice had caught the attention of Yama, God of death, He remained at a distance, following her through the forest, silently hoping she would find the tree of ages. **

**A sacred tree, which only the gods were allowed to eat from. **

**As she neared the tree, the glowing red fruits attracted the young woman's eyes, and Yama appeared before her, strikingly beautiful with his dark, jagged wings. **

"**Who are you?" Lady Haruno spoke, lulled by his beauty to approach him, **

"**I am Yama," He smiled, taking a seat beneath the beautiful, glowing tree. **

"**Are these fruits- are they magic?" She spoke, hesitantly approaching the tree, Yama, being a god, knew of her intentions to heal her lover, and was prepared to strike a deal, **

"**Yes, They may heal any injury, illness, and may grant eternal life." He smiled, watching as Lady Haruno neared the tree, reaching for one of the fruits, she pulled, but it didn't even budge, She looked over to Yama with curiosity, **

"**Only a god may pluck the fruit from the tree," He explained, walking over to Lady Haruno, and plucking the fruit from the tree. He watched the young woman's face light up, he had never seen such a beautiful creature in the ageless time he had spent on this earth.**

**She bowed, "Oh thank you! I shall be forever grateful!" She smiled, reaching for the fruit, but Yama stepped back, a chuckle escaping his lips, **

"**You see, I cannot just give this fruit to you, something must be given in return." **

**The woman's face looked puzzled for a moment, before she frowned, "What do you ask in return? Anything!" She cried, pleading with the dark god before her, **

**He gave a sarcastic sigh and smiled, "Well you see maiden, I am terribly lonely in this world, if you'll take an oath, to walk beside me through the ages, you may have the fruit." **

**The woman looked horrified, "But! I need the fruit to save my love, I can't just leave him! I won't!" She cried, **

**Yama gave her a sadistic smirk, "Your lover does not have much time, would you rather he die? He will move on, meet another, but only if he lives." The god reasoned. **

**The woman looked guilt stricken, "May I at least say goodbye?" **

**The god thought for a moment, sensing the honesty and trust in the young woman's heart, **

"**Take him the apple, and return to the tree within a day's time, or I take the life of your young lover girl, do not trick me." The god warned, seeing the glistening tears in the girls eyes as she nodded and began running through the trees assured his worries, **

**She would return. **

**Lady Haruno ran, and ran until she was at her cottage, and her feet could carry her no more, bursting through the doorway, she could see her lover in his bed mat, lying on the floor, a small, weak smile appeared on his face as he looked up at her from lavender eyes, **

"**Hello my love," He rasped, Lady Haruno looked upon him through teary eyes, pushing back the damp silver hair from his forehead, **

"**I have brought you something; it was bestowed to me from a god himself." She smiled sadly, revealing the glowing crimson fruit to the man, "Take a bite, my love, and sleep well." She finished, helping her lover lean forward, and watched him weakly bite into the fruit, **

**The room was filled with blinding light, and once she could see again, she looked down at Namimaru, placing a hand on his forehead, she smiled, his temperature was normal, his breathing was normal and not forced, **

**Soon her heart dropped though, as she regretfully looked at her lover one more time, before escaping into the night, Carrying only one possession with her. **

**Namimaru's sword. **

**As she fearlessly walked throughout the woods, they were deadly silent, no animals were heard, even the crickets were silent. **

**She approached the tree just as the sun began to rise, panting from the relentless running she had just endured as the God appeared before her, Looking at her through crimson eyes. **

"**You have returned." He smiled to the woman, **

**She nodded fearlessly. "I am a woman of my word."**

**She stepped forward, The God seeing the good in the woman allowed her to wrap her arms around him, Slightly taken-aback by her actions, **

**He barley felt the blade dig into his skin, **

**Although, This blade was special, little did the woman know, **

**Outraged, The god began to change to his true form, a large, frightening black dragon, He snarled at her, causing her to stumble and fall to her feet, **

**Something was wrong with Yama, The god's form no longer stable, He needed a body, a body capable of holding such a vast amount of power, and with that, He took a chance, and entered the woman's body. **

**Her cries of pain turned to determination, as with all of her strength, enjoined with power from her very life force, She tricked him, Her plan playing out as perfectly as she thought, She sealed him within her, Limiting the gods very powers.**

_**End of Sakura's Story**_

I could see the odd looks Sasuke was giving me, It really did sound almost like a fairy-tale. Although, this fairy tail didn't have a happy ending, no prince's or nights in shining armor.

"She sacrificed an eternity, until she could go on no more, and bore a child with a young warrior, inside the child, the demon was passed on." I sighed, sipping the sake that had been brought to me earlier.

"It was nearly three hundred years ago, Many Haruno's have passed it on throughout generations, the previous owner, my mother."

I could feel disbelief through the connection, and then some kind of awe.

"I thought the demon - _God_ allowed you the power of immortality?" He argued, I felt as though in a small way, he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that there could be such a power lingering inside of me.

I looked down at the bottle before me warily, "Eventually, all people either go mad, and pass it on to their child, or attempt to kill themselves, which is when another Haruno is selected to carry the weight,"

"But you're the last…" He whispered, I looked at him through pained eyes, Feeling his emotions change throughout our connection,

Confusion,

Disbelief,

Realization,

Greif and Heartbreak.

His face told nothing of the conflicting emotions.

"So it's up to me." I whispered, a harsh, pained tone in my voice that I couldn't shake off.

I watched Sasuke's face harden, But pain danced behind his eyes, "Why him?"

I swallowed, knowing these words would soon come, although not from him, Not from Sasuke.

"He-…he has always protected me, he knows what I am, he doesn't press, he doesn't lie. He is… He is who he is. There is no trickery. He cared for me at a time I needed it most, he and I are in some way connected. Our fates are intertwined."

I could feel it,

Rage, Jealousy, Guilt.

The thing is, I couldn't understand the guilt, I wouldn't ask him, and he knew not to ask me of my own feelings, it was a kind of unspoken agreement, the mind of a person is their only sanctuary, the one place they can think clearly and openly.

"Stupid fucking…"

I turned to see Hidan approaching the table, cracking his knuckles, I irked an eyebrow at him, "What?"

"Some fucker was looking at me while I pissed." He smirked,

I rolled my eyes, figuring the man who dared was now passed out on the floor of the bathroom I didn't even need to ask.

I sighed and took yet another drink from the bottle before me, Hidan slouching back in his chair, "This is fucking boring, let's go kill something, or someone." Hidan grinned; I was slightly taken-aback by his words, maybe it was the air tonight, maybe it was the way the moonlight seemed to shine through the windows of the smoky pub,

But it was a perfect night for a sacrifice, a perfect night, to kill again.

**Someone's getting too big for their shoes. **Snickered inner, I remained silent, wandering why she had come back, usually Yama scares her away, Keeps her from my mind, although I prefer her incessant nagging than the presence of darkness that lurked within me.

Downing the remainder of the bottle I stood, Watching the darkened grin spread across Hidan's features as he took my arm, I gave a simple, empty not to the young Uchiha, who wordlessly remained at the table, emotions flooding through our connection.

Emotions that my mind blocked, because tonight was a night to remember.

**Tsunade**

Something wasn't right about this night, the moon was high in the sky, glowing and casting a silver sheen across the sky. Kirigakure, The village hidden in the mist.

I was searching through the dusty file all night, but something wasn't right, there was a large gap, and I still couldn't piece together anything that connected the slaughter of the Haruno clan to Konohagakure, but Shizune had pieced it together with our village.

Why though?

I felt it too. I felt like something was missing. Something someone didn't want to be seen about the slaughter, but what? What could possibly link such an old event my village.

Something else seemed to crawl beneath my skin as well; many myths were conducted about how the power within Sakura was, as well as how it came into possession of her family.

Some tell a tale of a dark god luring her ancestor to him, betraying her. Some say it was a blessing from a powerful god. Some say they called upon hells doorway, leading a demon into this world. Some say it was a great dragon that plagued they're lands, much like the nine-tails was sealed within a child.

I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, although I have made it down to one last resort, a temple on the outskirts of the village, Said to once be the great Haruno manor, the land that once belonged to the great clan even before the five nations were whole.

I watched the mist roll across the ground like heavy smoke. Death loomed in the air, it always seemed to hang here, great sadness had once happened here, and now there were those in danger for their mistakes.

My fists clenched, I was being backed into a wall, Sakura's retrieval ark not only barley a week ago had failed miserably.

I have the Nara boy in the Hospital with severe burns from the Nine-tails chakra. Naruto is keeping silent and to himself, something he never does, which irked me to no end. Uchiha brat had disappeared as well, I should have known better than to send him on a mission regarding the Akatsuki, I knew his brother was a current member. I should have known better.

I had to know, I had to know the secrets behind Sakura's betrayal, I could never truly understand how Naruto and Sakura had felt when Sasuke had left, why they searched so hard, so long. It almost reminded me of Orochimaru's betrayal, although… Orochimaru was dark from the moment be began breathing.

But now… Now I could understand what it was like loosing a close comrade, a daughter even. I guess I'd always known something was… different with Sakura, Her chakra control was so perfect, even as a genin, barely used to any kind of complex jutsu, She never showed any indifferent skills, Basic ninja tact, but she had drive, and listened intently, learned quickly.

You could tell she didn't voice all of her opinions, you saw the confliction in her eyes when she gave a smile, like she was having a battle with her own mind, perhaps she was, perhaps not. I'll never know.

I sighed, moving away from the window, my eyes meeting the shadows of the room, where only darkness lurked, where Sakura resided now, In the dark, surrounded by shadows.

I just prey it isn't too late to pull her out.

**Sakura**

I had a creeping suspicion that something was going on within the leaf; perhaps revealing myself to them wasn't such a good idea after all…

**Coward. **

My teeth unconsciously grit at the sniggering of inner. I nearly snarled outwardly, but didn't want to startle Hidan, who was walking in front of me, a kind of swagger in his step from the sacrifices only moments before, it took me much time to find a person who radiated the dark aura, Hidan seemed content with waiting while I found someone specific.

I felt the dried blotches of blood on my skin where I had marred flesh only moments ago, There was a kind of intimate connection between Hidan and I when we sacrificed together, It felt like… We were reaching each other on more than a sexual level, we were sharing in a spiritual connection, and it was marvelous.

I felt the smile on my lips, satisfied from the kill, a high that came afterward remaining as we walked through the dark forest, it was so harmonious here. Crickets chirping, the sound of a stream bubbling in the distance, lightning bugs illuminating the treetops, wolves howling in the distance, it felt like the forest was alive, filled with life and breathing.

I smiled, taking Hidan's hand, I watched his eyes flash to me, and he grumbled profanities at the 'pansy-ass handholding' but didn't pull away, His eyes seemed more lavender tonight, his hair catching the silvery sheen of the moonlight, blood splattered across his pale skin.

He looked like a statue, something beautiful, which radiated with power, demanding attention and fear.

I walked beside him for what seemed like an eternity before we came to the small village, the smell of smoke from the chimneys hung in the air, the clatter of people coming home from the pub, children catching lightning bugs in jars, giggling and dancing around the streets,

Something in the air was beautiful, and fulfilling, it was a home-like feeling that I hadn't felt anywhere beside with Hidan. Maybe I was just in a perfect high from the perfect night.

I smiled as Hidan walked me through the village, keeping his calm at the sideways glances we were receiving from the villagers, once again. I assume it was from our odd appearance, per usual, no one dared say a word to us though, which was to be expected, danger radiated off of Hidan, making my senses go wild, and tingle with excitement, it was thrilling to sacrifice, the power, Seeing Hidan in transformational state, Seeing him yield such demanding power… It brought heat all through my body, and burned like fire for the silver haired Jashinist.

With a small yawn we entered the Inn, Finding Sasuke already asleep I assumed that's why I was so tired, The connection was filled with odd conflicting emotions, probably from Sasuke's dreaming, I shrugged it off and crawled into bed, Soon after feeling the shift in weight, and I was encased in loving arms, which wrapped around my waist, I could feel his hot breath on the back of my neck, ticking it with his exhales.

"I love you," I whispered, cuddling against his chest,

"Fuckin' love you too, Hime." He yawned; I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

We both slowly succumbed to slumber.

_**Sasuke**_

_I was standing in the same hallway as before, silence filled the hallway, I could hear a sort of crying sound, but it was more like… whimpers. As if a child was trying desperately to hold back tears, _

_I stumbled lightly at the most heart-wrenching cry, and found myself sprinting through the hallway, Coming closer and closer to the sound, until I was standing in a large open room, the most fury-educing scene playing off before my very eyes, _

_It was Sakura, although she appeared to be barley three or four, lying on the floor, hands bound by chains, a bright pink haired woman standing over the child, It- _

_It looked just like an older version of Sakura! The woman had the long petal pink hair, although it was longer than Sakura's, And Kept in a neat braid, that reached down to the top of her thigh, and unmistakable, crimson eyes, Although they were flickering, from crimson to a paled jade._

_I snarled, black chakra was flowing from her fingertips, and into the young child, who cried and thrashed, but never uttered a single word, her eyes were wide, and filled with tears that fell like diamonds down her alabaster cheeks, _

_Sakura's eyes began flickering red, viciously, quickly, and the woman who I assumed to be Sakura's mother began panting, and hunching down, Sakura's eyes were no longer flickering, but a burning crimson, a black seal pulsing on her forehead, before disappearing within her skin. _

_Her eyes closed, small even breaths came from her lips. She was asleep. _

_Her dead mother lying atop her. _

_I could hear gentle sobs in a different room, and went out to find out what I could. _

_I neared the sobbing figure, It was the older woman from before, her eyes filled with tears as she lay on the floor, streaks of black in her graying hair, it must have been before she took Sakura to Konoha._

_Were these all Sakura's memories? They were so vivid, She couldn't possibly remember something from such a young age… _

_The sobs grew louder, and the woman crawled over and grabbed a picture frame from her nightstand, It was a man… with pink hair… _

"_Oh Kohaku, I always knew it would come to this… When we fell in love… I knew our daughter would possess the demon, I just… I preyed she would have the power to protect Sakura… I've failed us!" The woman cried, clutching the picture to her chest, _

_I assumed since the man in the picture had pink hair, he was a Haruno, So this woman, was she not? Nothing was adding up. _

…**.**

_Slowly the scene before me began to fade, _

_And another surfaced. _

…**..**

_It seems I was standing in… Sakura's room from the Akatsuki base… Well, this is strange. _

_I looked down at the bed, It was Sakura, Well, It seemed to be a privy Sakura, Her wrists cuffed to the headboard with glowing chakra cuffs, I could see a trickle of blood slipping down her alabaster skin as she snarled and jolted forward, with each jerk a harsh intake of air came from the pinkette before me, _

_She looked… Well, She looked as she did when I had seen her last, her hair was brushing just below her shoulders, although it was messy, and sweat dripped down her brow, Her chest rising and falling with heavy pants, _

_She looked mesmerizing, a true symbol of power. _

"_**Fuck you**!" She snarled, I irked an eyebrow at the profane language, It was so… unlike her? _

_I turned to see where she was facing, It was the white haired man, His arms crossed as he looked over the woman before him, I balled my fists at the sight, _

"_Be as fucking mad as you want. I'll untie you when you chill the fuck out." He sighed, He looked exhausted, and I could see a few appearing bruises on his arms and chest, I smirked, Sakura had put up a hell of a fight, per usual. _

"_I don't know what the fuck you want from me; I swear to Kami I will peel the flesh from your bones if you come a step closer to me!" She growled her teeth bore like an animal;_

_I like this Sakura, Where did this Sakura go? _

_The door opened quietly, and in strolled Madera, Calmly approaching the hostile girl in the room, my senses going wild, I stepped forward, as if to cut him off, but he walked right through me. _

_I snarled as Madera placed a hand on her cheek, "Sakura, Please, Stop fighting I-"_

_I chucked, she had spat in his face!_

_Madera closed his eyes and inhaled a breath, obviously trying to calm himself, the white haired man rolling on the floor hands clutching his side as he roared with laughter, _

"_Okay. I see you're still being vulgar and hostile." He said through clenched teeth, trying to keep up his 'gentlemen' façade. I rolled my eyes at the very sight; He must have really, really wanted Sakura to join the-_

**_Boy, I will not tell you again. _Get out.**

_Blackness shrouded the scene, and I was standing in some kind of watery cell, Well- outside of one anyway, It reminded me almost of the Kyubi's cadge, although it looked ancient, the bars were smothered with what appeared to be intricately carved seals, there were… there were **thousands**. _

_What could possibly need so much protection?_

_I jumped at a slithering noise, like a snake's belly rubbing across a floor, and in an instant I was looking into two glowing crimson eyes, my very flesh felt like it was being burned to the bone, _

"_What- Ngh! What are you?" I choked out, the chakra rolling off of the unseen figure was unimaginable, scorching my very skin and attempting to crush me beneath the sheer force of power, this was no ordinary chakra, even for a junjuriki, _

_This was something else…_

_Was this truly a god?_

_**I am god of death, the judge of souls, the wrong being to make your enemy, child.**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen; Teeth**

_**Sakura**_

I couldn't explain what was going on with my dreams lately, they were all memories, I was starting to get the hunch Sasuke was seeing a bit too much. Could he perceive my memories as dreams when we both were asleep? And what was angering Yama so much about the memories Sasuke was seeing?

There were of no relevance to him, were they?

I sighed and circled my finger around the rim of the dark blue coffee cup, steam pouring from the dark brown liquid. I loved coffee, always have. I prefer it black, Instead of shoveling sugar on top of something already relatively bad for you.

I brought the cup to my lips as I looked through a newspaper I had found outside the hotel room door this morning. Apparently some bandits have been running around this region calling themselves The 'Yokai' gang. Apparently they'd been stealing from transport shipping' and passing by citizens. And strangely no one was doing a thing about it.

They seemed to be performing simple petty theft; they couldn't be anything more than just a few punks who'd gotten too big for their knickers. I guess no one thought it was that big of a deal. Or they couldn't do anything. This region is more of a farming land, peaceful people whose families have lived here for ages.

A soft groan from across the room followed by the slamming of a door caused me to irk an eyebrow in amusement, not turning away from the newspaper in my hands.

"Rough day Hidan?"

I heard a groan, and then a creaking of bed springs, signifying that he'd been lying down; Hidan had gotten up earlier than I to go and meet with one of the guards from the manor, pretending to be interested in working as one.

"Tch. They're mostly all citizens, there are few ninja. They say it's pretty quiet, So they don't really do much, just scope the perimeter and gamble. Fucking idiots." Hidan huffed into a pillow.

I almost snickered.

**Don't you think it's weird that if we need to breech this manor so bad and it's so weak that someone wouldn't have taken it down by now? I mean- How could such a weak man be so much of a threat to the Akatsuki?**

_Yes, I've thought of that too. Either the Akatsuki is hiding something from us, or the people we are hunting aren't as weak as they seem. That's why we haven't made any kind of strike yet; we aren't exactly sure where to hit from. _

**Yes. And Madera hasn't always been the most reliable alley. I'm curious as to why he would send Sasuke with us, when it's more than obvious Hidan and you alone could easily handle it. **

I nodded silently in agreement to her words and sipped the coffee before me, folding up the newspaper and tossing it as Hidan, who groaned loudly when it smacked him on the back of his head, He growled and clutched it in his hand, as if to return strike by throwing it back.

"Read that, have you heard of the 'Yokai' gang?" I sighed, circling the rim of the cup once more.

I hard a hard sigh, and the crinkling of paper as Hidan began to unfold it, While he was reading over the headlines, I lit a cigarette and sighed, slouching back in the uncomfortable grey chair that faced the glass doors that lead out to the-

Well, at once it lead out to a balcony. Now it leads out to a ten foot drop.

As smoke poured from my lips I could hear Hidan's footsteps nearing, I turned to see him pointing off to a small topic box on the page, I must have missed it,

"Sound familiar?" He snickered,

Slowly I read through the page,

'_Victims say the leader of the group is a tall, tan blonde with spiked hair, and whisker marks on his cheeks, often seen with a pale, lean man with long hair, usually held in a loose ponytail with milky white eyes.'_

I smiled, "They're trying to draw us out, or at least get information on our base."

"Yeah, But do you really think these little pansy heathens would really have it in them to play the bad guy for once?" Hidan scoffed in disbelief.

I nodded, "Well, You don't know Naruto Uzumaki. He's stubborn as an ox."

"Hmph, Whatever." Hidan said groggily, scratching the back of his head and taking a seat at the end of the bed, getting closer to me. I smiled and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek,

"We have meeting with a woman at the pub in an hour." Hidan sighed, Pulling off his black combat boots and replacing them with standard ninja sandals. I irked an eyebrow and took another sip of coffee,

"Why?"

"Information. Why_, Jealous_?" He snickered, wagging his eyebrows in an idiotic manor.

"Tch." I snorted, standing to sip from the coffee cup which was now empty.

I stretched and walked into the small bathroom, Slamming the door behind me and beginning to undress, it was so early I hadn't gotten the chance to shower yet, my hair was starting to feel greasy.

As I slipped into the warm water I sighed, It loosened my sore muscles, I haven't been sleeping very well lately, I've had the feeling that my personal space was being invaded, which for all extensive purposes, was.

Running the lavender washing oils through my hair I sighed, The aroma rolling around me in the steam, coming off of my skin.

As the oils ran out of my soft hair I sighed, I couldn't feel in a worse mood, like something was dragging me out of my calm, collected persona, and dragging me down into deep depths of despair.

Where was Sasuke? He reported back this morning, but disappeared once again, So it wasn't like a suspicious like event, but I hadn't felt anything but irritation, and a little hurt come from his emotions all day, Perhaps our connection was finally weakening.

Perhaps.

_**Little one!**_

I jumped with a soft squeal as the voice roared through my head, ringing harshly in my ears.

"What's happening?" I spoke, not meaning to say it out loud, but assuming no one could hear me talking with the shower running, I waited patiently for an answer, when another booming roar reached my ears.

_**The foolish Uchiha has been captured by the fox pup!**_

My eyes widened as I raced from the shower without even a scrap of clothing to bust into the room, Hidan's eyes grew wide as they racked over my dripping form,

"Hidan- They has got Sasuke! Naruto and the others have him!" I gasped, I watched his features flash from lecherous and hungry, to serious and cold; He gripped his scythe and without another word hopped from the glass doors and into the streets,

I knew his silence meant to get dressed and follow his chakra trail when I was ready.

_**Little one, There is something you must do-**_

_**And fast, If you want the Nine-tails Junjuriki to live.**_

_**Sasuke**_

"Naruto." I warned once more, banging harshly against the damn lid of the cylinder box I was being concealed it, Reminding me all to well of the one I was practically gift-wrapped in when the band of Orochimaru's five-person freak show and I left Konoha.

I knew it was of no use, the top was sealed with such care that even the Kyubi couldn't break through, I couldn't see anything, it was dark, and musky, and that voice, that horribly annoying-

_**Stop with your impudent whining boy, my host will be with you momentarily. Pathetic mortal. **_

I hissed at the presence of the raspy, distorted voice in my head, Not used to anything other than my own thoughts invading my mind, although now- this beast was here, Looking through personal memories, invading everything- everything that I've ever seen was available to the bloody mind of Sakura's little - pet!

"He-he, No way Sasuke. Now- Tell me where Sakura-Chan is!" His cheery voice retorted from the other side of the thin box, that was sadly keeping me restrained, how humiliating.

"I told you, _Dobe_- She's not on the menu, Sorry- Better luck next time. Mind letting me go." I smirked sarcastically in the darkness, slowly feeling my chakra being sucked away bit by bit. Whoever had sealed this prison, certainly knew what they were-

Wait.

"Demon, Can you hear me?" I whispered into the darkness, closing my eyes as if that would make it easier.

_**I've told you boy, I am a God, not a lowly Demon. Address my by Lord Yama or do not address me at all! **_The voice growled through my ears, I clenched my teeth, How could Sakura deal with this constantly, and not show any signs of madness, It was as if someone was screaming directly into your ear every time he spoke!

"Can you call to the Kyubi, as you did before?" I questioned, not noticing the slight movement outside the box, and the footsteps that were nearing me.

_**Of coarse I can, although, for you- I will not. I care not for you, disgusting creature.**_

I ground my teeth out in frustration, "Hn. Yet you listen to Sakura's commands, Why?"

_**The girl has become an excellent vessel, by far one of the most admirable I've ever had. You're nothing compared to her, you insect! And to me- You're not even that. So I dare you to speak either of our names with such disrespect!**_

The voice had escalated, and seemed to rattle my ear drums with the power of the volume in the voice.

I froze as a sound outside the box snapped me back to reality,

"_**Give me the brat, and I ain't fucking around this time!"**_

I snarled at the familiar voice- It was the white haired imbecile.

_**Sakura**_

I was slowly nearing

My heart burning as I got closer to the familiar chakra presence of Hidan, Sasuke, Neji, and… Naruto.

My skin was practically bare in the fighting attire I wore, (**A:N Check out the image for this fic, just click on it & it will maximize.)**

My heart thudded violently as I came to the scene before me, Hidan was fighting off not Only Neji, but Naruto as well, I could feel Sasuke's chakra presence within a sealed kind of box, and vicious pounding on one end,

_Tell him to stop; He's only depleting his chakra further. _I told Yama, Hearing a growl-like grunt in his response.

I slowly felt my eyes flicker crimson, and met with Naruto's sky-blue.

"Well hi Sakura-Chan! Ready to go?" He smiled hopefully, My heart clenching at the sight.

I took a step forward, silently shaking my head no, His eyes seemed to widen at my appearance, I found the black wings appearing on my back, the chakra forming to flesh and bone. The feeling was somewhat relaxing, as if they were meant to be there.

A gust of wind blew my hair, my eyes a dangerous crimson, scanning over the form of Naruto,

"_Do you fear me, Kyubi_?" The words that slipped from my voice weren't my own, But spoken through my lips, in my voice, My body moved of it's own accord, taking another step forward.

I watched Naruto begin to tremble, The Kyubi was taking over, but Naruto was going to fight it, I knew that much.

_**I cannot take this anymore  
><strong>_

_**Saying everything I've said before  
><strong>_

_**All these words they make no sense  
><strong>_

_**I find bliss in ignorance  
><strong>_

_**Less I hear the less you'll say  
><strong>_

_**You'll find that out anyway**_

_**just like before...**_

"S-Sakura-Chan," Naruto smiled weakly, looking up at me through flickering eyes, with each blink they switched from an angry crimson, to his usual sky-blue orbs. I offered him a small, restricted smile, and outstretched a hand.

"I never wanted it to be like this, Naruto." I whispered, The hand he was once outstretching to me was pulled back, And he stared at me, pain seemed to explode through him and he fell to his knees, not crawling weakly toward me,

He couldn't restrain the Kyubi's chakra, not on his own, not when the seal was so close to breaking.

"N-neither… did I." He choked, looking up at me with pained, teary blue eyes.

I gave him a nod, and offered a hand to pull him up, Staring into his pained eyes I placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

My body will now be home to three souls,

Because the Kyubi **will** bow.

Everyone's eyes seemed to be on us, but none dared take a step forward.

"I'm sorry it has to be like this Naruto, But I'm going to have to take him from you." I whispered, seeing the understanding and gratefulness in his eyes as a small, forced smile appeared on his lips,

"Hey- Maybe with him gone… I ca- can become Hokage, then you'll come back for sure, right Sa-Sakura?" He coughed, the chakra now bubbling on the surface of his skin, my hands were flashing so quickly with hand signs even the sharringan would have trouble keeping up.

As he fell to his knees once more with a cry of pure pain, I nodded.

"Naruto, when you become Hokage, I shall return!" I growled, feeling a pair of crimson horns appear on my forehead, my crimson eyes glowing as the black chakra poured from my fingertips.

A hard snicker came from Naruto's lips, although it was not his voice, "I bow to no one!" The voice bellowed.

A small chuckle escaped my own as I stared into the amused eyes of the Kyubi, although laced with fear, I must say- he was almost menacing.

"I wasn't **asking**!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen; Break**

His entire body was vibrating with power, I could see the orange chakra rolling off him, and nearly shivered as I remembered the chakra burning me back when he faced Orochimaru during one of our Sasuke retrieval missions.

But I had Yama on my side, I felt a pulse of calming chakra wash over me, and my wings gave a sharp beat, I watched the nine tails bones start to appear on Naruto's form, which was no longer visible in the bright chakra.

My eyes flickered to Hidan, who was fighting off Neji, whose attempts to jump in the fight were being easily thwarted. My fingers flexed unconsciously, and I noticed how clammy my hands were, I swallowed harshly and inhaled a deep breath, hearing the Kyubi's haughty laughter from my former teammates lips, although I couldn't see him through the chakra veil, I knew Naruto's innocent features were being twisted into a dark, feral sneer.

The Kyubi holds a life long grudge against Yama for banishing him to earth from the realm of demons. Cerberus, Yama's pet, consumed the Kyubi, thus knocking him to the realm of the living.

_**Do not fear little one, for I will protect you. **_Yama's voice cooed through my head,__for once calming me, I felt the dark, powerful chakra pulsating through my veins, and raised my head, looking into the form before me, amusement rolled in its chakra.

"Kyubi, I give you one last chance. _Bow_!" I commanded, an authority I'd never yielded before ringing in my voice that coaxed even me.

A loud snarl echoed through the air, and every person present turned their heads at the animalistic sound. I quickly dodged a swipe of the Kyubi's claws, Exhaling sharply as I ascended into the air, the black reptilian wings beating furiously behind me, stirring up a wind that tossed my hair.

"_I bow to no one." _The beast snarled.

I heard a roar shake the trees around me, and I was pushed into the back of my mind, All I could hear was the loud, distinct sound of crumbling cement, and rattled chains before I completely lost control of my body.

_**Narrative Pov**_

"_**How dare you speak to me in such a tone you lowly demon!" **_A loud, commanding voice snarled through the soft lips of Sakura, Her eyes lost all color, and were taken over by a fearsome glowing crimson, no white, no evergreen, no pupil, just a glowing, unforgiving crimson.

The Kyubi paused mid-leap as a delicate porcelain hand raised and a beat of chakra threw the fox demon into the remaining density of forest, sending the creature through several trees, not even having time to rise as a claw like hand formed from black chakra wrapped around its body, raising the nine-tails into the air to peer into the eyes of the dark god.

The beast thrashed furiously in the grasp of the chakra that was actually _consuming_ its own.

_This is impossible…_ The words bounced through the Kyubi's mind as its body slowly began to expand to nine-tails form, the size difference forced Yama's chakra claw to loose grip on the demon.

As the fox grew to full size he towered over the small form of Sakura, Bystanders such as Hidan and Neji were forced to move their ongoing battle to a farther location, staring in awe at the fear-striking form of the fox.

Sakura's form didn't waver, nor did the annoyed look on her face.

A heavy sigh escaped the girl's lips as she looked up at the demon with cold indifference through the eyes of Yama, "_**Is this form supposed to strike fear into me? Pathetic fox pup**_!" Her voice, distorted as if speaking in sync with many other animalistic voices.

The fox snarled, nearing its enormous teeth, crouching in a pounce-like position before the small girl, who was still looking at the fox with amusement, burning a stronger hatred in the form of the tailed beast.

"_Foolish god, you're vessel is weak_!" The fox mused, snapping its massive jaws at the pinkette, who wasn't even one hundredth of its size, and still not a trace of fear was shown on the girls face.

"_**My vessel should be the least of your concerns, fool."**_ The god snorted, hand a blur with intricate seals, finishing with a blood seal that even the age-old fox demon wasn't familiar with.

Attempting to thwart the jutsu the fox jumped forward, but the air pulsed as a chakra barrier pushed back the beast with ease, just as a massive amount of chakra exploded from beneath her, the sheer power hanging in the air as if crushing the area with it's weight, trees were uprooted and thrown, the ground shattered, the beast was forced back with a harsh growl, a barrier of power formed, nearly three hundred feet high, like a black abyss nothing could be seen within it.

Smoke filled the air, and fire was set to the remaining trees and rubble.

As the smoke cleared the Kyubi snarled, feeling the same fear that was stricken into the mighty beast the last time he set eyes upon this legendary creature, which happened to be the last time he was in the heavens, guarding Yama with the others.

Two hundred feet high was a beast of massive strength, fur black as midnight with a silvery sheen similar to the stars, it's fur could be classified as millions of pin-sharp needles, it's claws as thick as an aged tree and as sharp as the finest blade, dyed crimson with the limitless blood it has shed.

Three heads graced the massive hound; the first had eyes as white as any pearl, Ferocious, jagged teeth oozing with an acidic purple liquid, which dripped to the ground, melting it nearly ten feet deep.

The middle head's eyes were fearsome, a golden color with crimson rings familiar to those of the Rennigan, its teeth were actually moving, two rows, that moved back and forth, vibrating with power, teeth that were meant to rip you to shreds in the most painful way possible.

The third heads eyes were green; its mouth was shut with a muzzle made of silver, with beautiful patters through it. Its eyes didn't look angry, or fearsome like the others, they were calm, serine, as if not aware of the beast ahead.

And standing on the back of the beast, power radiating from her very body, was Sakura Haruno, missing nin of Konohagakure, The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The Kyubi's fur stood on end at the sight of its legendary foe. A single step back from the Kyubi added another twenty foot space between the two legendary creatures.

The two which were once preoccupied with fighting one another now paused, staring at the awe-striking form of the two beasts. A silver-haired Jashinist paused and felt his immortal heart skip a beat.

The white-eyed Hyuga paused and gave a small tremble as he looked at the pair of massive demons.

A feral snarl escaped the lips of the three headed beast, Sakura kneeled walked forward, coming to stand on the neck of the third head, and tenderly placed a hand there, closing her crimson eyes, and within an instant her lips began moving with an unknown language, in an unknown chant.

Two of the beasts heads fell limp, and the green eyes of the third beast locked on the Kyubi with a blank expression, the Kyubi took a single step back, preparing to run, but before he could move, the muzzle fell from the third beasts snout,

The beast had no lips, just row upon row of crimson teeth, although they weren't menacing, in fact, they looked dull, The Kyubi was prepared for a witty remark at the gods foolishness, but as the massive jaws opened at nearly impossible lengths….

_**Yama**_

I watched the dark grey gasses pour from my pet, and tenderly pet its head, watching the Kyubi's eyes burn out like a candle, turning a dull grey, and kneel forward limply, it's form flickered from a physical form to a sheer translucent shadow, before it's chakra began to be sucked into the body of the third head.

The blonde vessel fell to the ground below.

I laced my vessels slender fingers through the fur of the beast, closing the human eyes of my vessel.

Slowly the Kyubi's very spirit was being forced into the body of my vessel, I had to heal some of her chakra gates, and open them completely, the Kyubi couldn't contain his chakra as well as I could, so some of it ran wildly through her system.

I bid my pet farewell, and slowly descended to the ground as it disappeared, leaving a nice sized crater within the earths surface.

Relinquishing the girls mind back to her own possession I receded within my cage.

_**Sakura**_

My body felt tingly, and my cheeks were lit up with warmth as the wings and horns slowly disappeared as quickly as they had came, leaving a trace of warmth in the places they once remained.

I brought a hand to my forehead, feeling dizzy. What happened? Why can't I remember?

"Sakura!"

I turned my head to see Hidan standing above me, I was standing in a crater nearly fifty feet deep, he had Neji slung over his shoulder, and an odd look on his face, something I'd never seen him wear before, not concern, but fear? No, not Hidan, he's never looked like that before.

I leaped from the crater, with ease landing on my feet beside my Hidan; He looked at me through concerned through lavender eyes and heaved an almost relieved sigh, what the hell was going on? Hidan has never, ever looked so distraught.

"What happened?" I mumbled, jumping as his large hand cupped my cheek, and his thumb ran over my tingling cheeks, I felt a small blush building at the amazed look in his eyes.

"You have the marks of a junjuriki." He said flatly, no swears, no profanity, just breathless words.

"N-Naruto!" I gasped, turning to another crater behind Hidan and racing towards it, my heart racing in my chest for some reason, Had I not tried to kill him only weeks ago? Had I not tried to kill all of them?

Something in my chest was pounding, and told me I needed to get to him, to make sure he was okay, and told me I should cry if he wasn't, but the thought that he wasn't make my chest clench with fear.

I skidded down the crater on my heels, leaving a trail of dust behind me.

I dropped to his side, looking over his torn clothing and singed skin, fist degree burns covered nearly all of his visible skin, I found myself panting and panicking as I placed a hand to his chest, quickly healing every inch of his skin, not noticing how easily I healed him, or the fact that my chakra reserves had grown even more.

"S-Sakura?"

My eyes flickered to the blonde, and I nearly gasped, his whisker-marks were gone! Had I truly removed the Kyubi from his body?

"Sh. don't use too much energy Naruto." I smiled weakly, stroking back the sweat-soaked hair that was stuck to his forehead.

His hand came weakly to rest on my cheek. "Y-you have my whiskers." He whispered, a small, pained smile on his lips.

My eyes widened and I brought a hand to my cheek, my fingers brushing over the skin. So I did take the Kyubi successfully.

"D-Don't forget Sakura… Don't forget to come back when I'm Hokage." He smiled.

I smiled and tucked back his bangs, unraveling the slashed leaf headband from my neck and placing it in his pocket, before tossing his limp body over my shoulder and leaping from the smaller crater.

Hidan was already waiting on me, Neji still hanging from his shoulder, but due to Hidan's massive size it looked less awkward than Naruto hanging over my own shoulder.

"So what do we do with the leaf brats now?" He asked, looking at the Hyuga with clear distaste.

"Ehem."

My eyes flickered to the white-haired Kakashi who immerged from the woods. "I'll be taking them." He said, his genuine eye-crinkle visible, clearly he had been a spectator to mine and Naruto's little brawl.

He took Naruto and Neji with a grunt, both boys hanging from his shoulder, before offering a small smile and disappearing in a swirl of leaves, oddly enough not saying another word, or even a sarcastic remark to either of us.

"So what now?" Hidan turned to me with a smirk.

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Hidan, I'm leaving the Akatsuki."

I still couldn't believe what happened next.

_Clank_

I turned my head at the small, seemingly insignificant sound, to see that Hidan's Akatsuki ring was now on the ground. I looked back and forth from the small ring on the ground, to him, mouth gaping.

"Trying to catch flies?" He grinned that smartass grin of his.

I smirked and removed my own ring.

"Let's go."

He dropped his robe and slung an arm over my shoulder. "Where do you wanna' go?"

I simply shrugged, "Anywhere. We'll be needed soon enough."

"Oh shit, hold up!" I said, "Where's Sasuke?"

"Fuck. Let's go find him **(-_-')**"

_**Sasuke**_

"What the hell is going on!" Hello! Sakura! _**Hello**_!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen; Wildflowers and Black Widows**

_**Sakura**_

"The sun is setting." I whispered, seeing the orange glow that seemingly touched every inch of the forest, the surface of every leaf, every blade of grass, only tinted with traces of pink and a bright almost white yellow light. It was warm, we were well by Suna by now, No doubt dangerously so, but we'd been doing here-and-there things to keep ourselves occupied, not that we needed the money, Oh no, after the immeasurable amount of time Hidan had worked in the Akatsuki he had enough money to suit three to the life of pure luxury. My own bank account was impressive, good enough to easily say that if I felt like it, I could go without a day of work in my entire life.

**You're far too feisty for that, kitten. **The Kyubi's voice snickered within my head, using that incredulous nickname he's chosen, the demon's voice was animalistic, rough and husky, nothing like Yama's, which held a god-like velvety sense of divinity which could make even Lord Hyuga blush with embarrassment, I however, had become accustomed to the voice and the unnecessary propriety.

_**Shut up you insolent fox pup. **_Yama seethed, clearly more than annoyed he was sharing the confines of his vessel with another spirit, and although the Kyubi was less than weak compared to the mighty god, the fox-demon's chakra presence was more potent, the reason being that Yama's seals were tighter, and much, much older than the nine-tail's, and the god had much more experience and control over his power to keep it to himself.

**Yes, my lord. **The demon replied almost hesitantly, although after having his ass super-kicked by his 'lord' I suppose he realized he was no where near the power to defy the being.

I was brought back from my mental battle when leafs crackled behind me, my hands instantly grabbing for the hilt of my sword, my eyes instantly scanning the treetops, knowing the intruder was no longer on the ground, his scent had disappeared, mixing with the potent scent of pine and maple that inhabited this forest. (Much thanks to the Kyubi's presence my senses had heightened to _more _than mere animalistic levels)

"Come out." I deadpanned, hearing the distinct crack of a smaller branch from the southwest side of the clearing, approximately twelve meters from where I was standing; the intruder was of decent size, but fast, more than most at a Jonin level, although speed wasn't everything.

A kunai whizzed past me, slicing my cheek, but it went unnoticed, I knew it was coming, so I needn't flinch, knowing he was more than willing to harm, to maim, but the trajectory of the kunai itself wasn't going for any vitals, why not indulge him for a little while?

I felt something on the back of my neck, and my senses came alive, the hot breath touching my bare neck, had my hair not been pulled into a rather messy bun atop my head my neck would be shielded from the sensual action.

"You're getting slow, _Sa-ku-ra_." The voice breathed, I closed my eyes at the huskiness of his voice, the was his lavender eyes looked longingly at the flesh that resided there, as if his lips couldn't lavish it the silver-haired man would die of frustration.

"Am I?" I smirked, seeing the confusion in my all-too-impulsive sparring partner's eyes as realization dawned on him; He was a sitting goose, snared in the trap of the not-so-big bad wolf.

"Clever little girl aren't you?" The amusement in his response was all but spiteful, but I could easily see the irritation in his eyes as he looked at the expertly placed seal pressed to his back, paralyzing him into place. With help from a shadow clone and a bit of a distraction the seal had been placed on him the instant he had left the ground and fled to the trees, ensnaring him into a senses block genjustu, enabling him to become deaf and blind to the movements of the clone itself as the stealthy figure managed to place the seal on the Jashinist, before disappearing into the smoke it had originated from.

"Always have been." I smirked as I rocked forward on my heels, placing a soft kiss to the violent man's lips, feeling the corner of his lip curl upwards into that absolutely delicious smirk he would wear, although there were more pressing matter's at hand.

"Hm, Hidan, what would you call us?" I questioned, snatching the paper seal from his back, and watching as he stretched and popped his stiff muscles, watching the way they flexed and glistened with sweat from a day of sparring.

"Rouge, Rouge Ninja?" He smirked, obviously amused at the whole situation, although it did make sense, we were rouge ninja, and we were even rouge from an organization of rouge ninja, Said organization had certainly not been happy with their dispatch either, resulting in having to nearly kill two of our former teammates (Which wasn't exactly an easy task considering that the Akatsuki never accepted any less than they thought they deserved, which meant they had incredulously high standards.)

I sighed, bringing a hand to my forehead, a damnable migraine was worming its way into my temples harshly, not the slightest bit of mercy for poor old rouge, rouge ninja Sakura Haruno, right?

"Let's grab a drink." The silver haired man finally spoke up, draping his much larger arm over my much smaller shoulders, radiating a much needed warmth and sense of security I wasn't even sure he was aware he gave me.

For the past three weeks I've been a rouge Akatsuki, I wasn't sure if that was an honorable title or not, although- in a mere week since their departure they had become an active pair in the bingo books, in fact, their names and pictures on the very same page.

They had certainly earned their title as well.

_**The Heaven and Hell Killers**_

_**Tsunade**_

Okay, this was just getting too, too weird. First, I have a disoriented Uchiha who'd openly rebelled against the village strolling in like it was more than his business to be here. Naruto, brought to me demon-less, and information on my former student still spinning in my head from the decision I had made to visit that damn monk at that damn temple.

**Flashback**

_I never liked temples, nor had I ever considered myself to be a religious woman whatsoever, not believing a god would allow such tragedy to rule this land for so long, and so painfully slow. _

_Although as she stepped within the confines of the compound she was greeted with a beautiful scene of early spring and bright spirits that never seemed to touch the land outside, that remained in the mist, humid and rainy weather. _

_Sakura trees lead down a long path, pink petals littered around the ground, sending a soft, floral scent to the nostrils of the blonde Hokage. The gentle breeze actually seemed to whisper sweet nothings in her ear, tossing my long hair in the wind with promising of softness and care._

_As I neared the doors, (Of massive size, if I even needed to speak that) I gulped, never realizing that my very own apprentice could have originated from a clan was foolish of me, although she hardly had a file, hardly had a past, and had a way of staying in the shadows about her past, her feelings, everything. _

"_I'm going to need _so much_ sake after this shit." I grumbled to myself, my fist pounding softly on the door, waiting impatiently for that damn monk so I could get the hell out of here so my mistake would quit waving annoyingly in my face. _

_A hollow sound could be heard, in bounced through my head for a moment, they were footsteps, not at all rushed, or forced, as if just taking a casual stroll throughout the forest, which irritated me more than anything possibly could have at this moment which, I will admit, wasn't really a hard thing to do. _

_The door slowly opened to reveal a man who couldn't possibly be a day under one-hundred, his glowing orange monk robes swaying around his feet, which were bare as if it were the most natural thing in the world, He offered me a smile, his lips pulling back to reveal he was missing most if not all of his teeth. _

"_Hello." He bowed respectively, although it felt like it went deeper than just a respect of her position as a Kage, usually monks respected all to an equal amount, so more than likely he could care less about her position, which made her feel more comfortable in the presence of the age-old man, (Not that I exactly had room to talk.)_

_He walked silently, his steps, his movements, all holding a fluid grace that somehow seemed to show the inner peace and enlightenment the man felt, the man was feeling, although a kind of guilt clung heavily to his skin, although he took it more than with acceptance than blatant pain and grief._

_Stupid damn monks with their stupid damn peacefulness._

_He lead me into a kind of traditional council room, and as I took a seat on the plush crimson seat matt I had to fold my legs beneath me, thus the way a traditional kitchen set would be, although hardly anyone went by tradition anymore, much less traditional furnishings._

_The man's head was shaved, but by his lavender eyebrows I guess all Haruno's were blessed with ridiculously colorful hair, his eyes were the same blue as Naruto's, guessing the man had been very handsome in his youth with the combination of hair and eye color. _

"_Who are you, and why were you so willing to meet me?" I questioned, getting straight to the point, not having the time, or patience right now to beat around the bush. _

_The man gave a sad nod, and I nearly regretted being so harsh, but I was in no mood to apologize. "I am Naminega Haruno, the last- one of the- last living decedents of the Haruno clan." He nodded glumly, his eyes cast downwards, as if deep in thought. _

_I gave him a quizzical look, although he seemed to notice and quickly answered the question that seemed to linger in the air. _

"_My mother- She was a civilian, The Haruno were the first ninja clan in this area, so- well, you know." He waved off with a smile, as if it was no big deal, but I noticed the glum, far away look within his sapphire depths. _

"_I see, Is there any information you hold on your clan?" I questioned, the true intentions of my question hanging in the air as well, clearly he was more than a perceptive man, and far from stupid. Were all the Haruno's as devastatingly clever as Sakura?_

_He took a deep breath, a devastatingly peaceful breath. "My clan- The Haruno clan was possibly the most peaceful group of people to ever walk these lands, meditations were a regular thing, births were celebrated with praise and grand events, the manor was luxurious, beautiful, the most exotic flowers grew here, every Haruno had an education, even the maids if they were willing to learn as well, outsiders were always welcome within the walls of the compound." He smiled, halting anything I would have to say about him maybe over-doing the kindness act. _

_The genuine look in his eyes told me that was not the case. The kindness and peacefulness fit my student well- Yet, how much did I truly know about her?_

"_And Sakura- The junjuriki?" I questioned, hesitant to even call her that._

"_Aa. She is one of the many Haruno's cursed with the demon, although more than often the host is preferably female, as if to give the vengeful god what he had been denied from the first host he'd taken. He is certainly powerful, offering gifts of strength and immortality, although who deserves such a fate? Watching loved one's fall before you one after another? It's nearly tragic…" He mumbled. _

_I was stunned, almost too much so to continue as quickly as I had, "I need to know everything, the story, how it fell into possession of the Haruno's, the genocide of the clan, everything, it is of the upmost important. _

_So he told me, without hesitation, not a second spared, I was barley able to hold in my temple at the pain this once great clan suffered through the years, literally becoming nearly extinct, and in all truth, it was more of a tragedy than the loss of the Uchiha clan in her eye's._

**Flashback Over**

My head was pounding painfully, apparently Sakura had left the Akatsuki, (I wasn't sure if I was relieved or horrified at the moment.) She had made quite a name of herself- well, her and that companion of hers, that bloodthirsty masochistic sadist. She had always had questionable taste in men after the Uchiha brat.

I sighed and swirled the remainder of the sake in the bottom of my cup, watching it swirl and push to-and-fro from one side of the cup to the other, like waves to the ocean. Or maybe it described life more to her. I was getting too old for this, (And while I would never admit it) Time had taken its toll on me, I think it's about time I passed on the torch to someone who deserved it.

Which is exactly what I had been preparing to do, and although the war was coming in less than three weeks, being allied with Mist, Sand and Cloud was starting to sooth my racked nerves, knowing Grass and Stone would take whatever chance they could to waltz up to Konoha and begin clawing at some eyes, yet it couldn't be denied that the best shinobi in the world were bred here, and I have no bias judgment in that, I am one of them, after all.

The thing making the Konoha nin so strong being their compassion, love that bonded each team to one another, literally giving each other something to fight tooth-and-nail for, and besides that, they were all pushed to their limits, and coming out stronger, I have the upmost faith in each and every ninja in this village.

Once the impending war ended, Naruto would take his place as Hokage, and with the nine-tails gone, the council had no room to deny her request, not after everything she had done for those bastards.

"Oh Sakura, Where are you?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen; Chaos**

**(A/N: All hell is soon to break loose, Homies.)**

_**Tsunade**_

Damn! Damn it all to hell!

Iwa and Cloud joined forces with Grass, Damn them. The invasion was predicted to happen within the next few days with hold bold and ignorant all three villages were, and it would be more than clear that all three would head straight for Konoha first.

Although that wasn't what had me on edge, Oh no. It was the fact that they had joined forces with the _Akatsuki_, no less! I snorted, Traitorous bastards, although that didn't surprise me, they always were the backstabbing kind.

I looked down at the bottle of Sake before me, instead of the usual urgency in my eyes only a look of distaste touched my features, before I swatted the bottle from the smooth surface of my desk, said bottle smacked against the far wall, glass shattering across the floor, the liquid dripping down the surface of the wall, a darkened trail of wetness in it's path.

Everything was going to hell and fast.

"Tsunade?"

I groaned and my head dropped to the surface of my desk, only one person would address me like that, and I certainly didn't need the pervert's company right now, or any other time for that matter, but I knew better than to think I could scare him off, Oh no. That ol' teammate of mine was a persistent bastard.

"Yes Jariya?" I sighed, banging my head against the smooth surface of my desk.

"Well you see, you've got some visitors and I-"

"Tell them to go away."

"Heh, Tsunade I really think you should give them a chance, this is kind of a big deal-"

"I. Don't. Care." I grumbled in annoyance, didn't he understand I had a lot on my plate right now?

"Well Shishou, I thought you would be excited to see me, but seeing as I'm not _wanted_ I'll take my leave-"An amused, painfully similar voice echoed through the room.

It couldn't be…

"Sakura…?"

I froze into place, taking in the appearance of the young woman, casually leaning against the parting of two walls, shielded by the shadows, the only way I could identify her at all was the evident sound of her voice and the silhouette of her body.

"In the flesh." She retorted, I was sure I was imagining it, but happiness still seeped into the voice of my former student, and I found tears building in my eyes, but pushed them back.

"What's your business here?" I questioned sharply, Hokage came first, then came pissed off mother figure.

"To help Konoha, What else?"

**CLIFFHANGER. **

**HA!**

**I demand at least four reviews for the next chapter, Show me a little love?**

**-Sakura-Centric.**


	20. Chapter 20

I don't usually do this, but since you guys were my reviews that I requested, here's a _special thanks_ to all of you;

_Godess of WAR1Keeper of TIME_

_UniCryin_

_The Keeper of Worlds_

_JElliott141_

_L. Shade_

_golden lily anime girl_

_Raiza-chan_

_Akatsuki freak 911_

_Tantalizing Kunoichi_

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_Anoni Mos _(Kudos by the way, very humorous.)

_Sarah_

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**Thank you all so much, you're the reason I bother updating at all. The same goes to **_all_** my readers. **

**Chapter Twenty: Situations**

_**Tsunade**_

_The situations are irrelevant now_

_She loves the way that I **tease**_

_I love the way that she **breathes**_

Blood dripped steadily on the floor, making a constant drip that went unnoticed in my ears, the only thing in my mind was the heavy pants that escaped my lips and the stance I found myself stuck in; Fist still in the air as I stared at the young woman I had stricken before my mind registered properly, the blow was full-force, yet the young woman did not even waver, besides the fact that her face was now tilted to the left, which is when I realized that the blood that dripped to the floor came from my now broken knuckles, and the tears that slipped through my eyes.

"I guess I deserved that." The young woman sighed, turning to look at me, before encasing my still extended fist within her small hands, and in under an instant each shattered knuckle was healed one by one.

I lunged for her once more, but instead of landing a blow, my arms wrapped around the girl, who was more than happy to return the embrace.

"Don't ever scare us like that again!" I snarled, pulling back to look at the now sparkling emerald of her eyes, no longer the dull, cloudy jade they had once been.

"I've missed you all so much, Shishou." She whispered, reaching up to cup my cheek softly, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears.

"Ehem." Jariya cleared his throat nervously, interrupting our reunion.

I instantly went back into Kage mode, "So you're offering your services to Konoha? Why should we accept?" Although I had a feeling I already knew the answer to that.

"I've committed no crimes against Konohagakure, in fact, with the knowledge my partner and I hold over the Akatsuki I believe we'd be more than useful, that and because who wouldn't want two of the neo-Sennin within the gates?" She smirked, her emerald eyes sparkling with defiance.

"But you haven't signed the contract with-"

"It doesn't matter, I signed a contract the day I was born. Weather or not I accepted it." She said, I understood every bit of her words, and heaved a heavy sigh, returning to my seat to plop down quickly, this was emotionally exhausting.

"You're right, you haven't committed any crimes against Konohagakure, but the Akatsuki automatically puts you on the hit list of all hunter nin and ANBU blackops."

"I'm no longer in the Akatsuki."

"But you _were._"

"You taught me to do what's best for those who are precious to me. This village means nothing to me, but that doesn't mean that the people within its walls do not."

"Are you willing to fight against your teammates in the Akatsuki?"

"Hai."

"Are you willing to become an active member of the village?"

"Hai."

"And you plan to stay here?"

"Hai."

I sighed and rubbed my temples, I couldn't refuse her offer, She was my apprentice, and we could certainly use the help, actually, we could more than use the help, but I would have to talk to the sneaky old bastards in the council, who would be less than pissed to allow me to give Sakura a pardon, but these were times of war, and an offer like this could not be refused.

"Granted-"

"Actually, I have an exception."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Hidan must be allowed to stay here with me, if you refuse, I'll still fight alongside you regardless, but he'll be with me, and I won't hold him back if your nin provoke him and he attacks those on Konoha's side."

Damn. Did she not understand that he was out of my hands? I couldn't just grant him a a place in the village, He'd killed Asuma, which automatically means he's committed a crime against the village, which is a completely different story than hers, but she knew that.

"Sakura-"

"I understand your place as Hokage, but only I can kill Madara Uchiha." She said, eyes narrowing as the name rolled off her tongue like poison. I found my own fists clenching at the mention of that cursed man's name.

"I accept your terms."

"What…?"

"I said; _I accept your terms_, Sakura. I trust your decisions, why, I do not know."

A smile crossed her lips and before I knew it she had crashed onto my desk, happy tears flowing from her eyes as her arms wrapped around my neck with such force I found myself nearly choking.

_**Bang!**_

_**Bang!**_

_**Bang!**_

"_**Hey! Baa-Chan!"**_

The noise filled the whole room, and the door forcefully swung open, revealing a whisker-less Naruto, and a wrapped up Uchiha, which surprised me more than anything, considering last time I saw him he was running off to the Akatsuki.

_**Sasuke**_

My heart seemed to freeze, and for a minute I forgot to breathe.

It was Sakura, Wearing the same red zip-up shirt she used to wear, her medic apron seemed shorter, so did the shorts she used to wear, they clung to her skin almost desperately, She was a porcelain statue, Her hair had grown to a faded silvery-pink not the cotton candy color it used to be, her eyelashes were thicker- and if possible, blacker, her eyes were a brilliant emerald that sparkled with life once again.

And I realized something- I'd never seen Sakura- Well, I mean, I've seen her many, many times, but I've never really _looked. _She was beautiful- No, she put the word beautiful to shame, but something clung to the air around her, a kind of sorrow that broke your heart to be in the presence of.

She had taken the Kyubi, the whisker marks on her face proved that. I would have smiled under any other circumstance. It almost made me blind with jealousy, She held a trait from the dobe, It almost seemed like they had a kind of intimate bond, that I had so foolishly thrown away the day I left the village.

I thought maybe if I came back- maybe if Naruto and I could bring her back that she would see how sorry I was, that I never wanted to leave her, that I had to leave her, that I was nothing without her and the dobe.

But I could see by the look in her eyes, the way the aura around her scolded the air; that she would never be the same innocent little girl she once was, and perhaps she never was. Naruto and I were too busy training to focus on the 'weak link' of our team; I had never known her like I should have.

The weak link can only be pushed so far before it snaps.

I was so wrong back then, so now, if I waited her to forgive me I would be what she always needed. A teammate and a friend, maybe I'll never be anything more, but she sure as hell deserved it from what I did to her.

"Sakura-"

She turned to me, with the most brilliant smile I could have ever seen, tears sparkled in her emerald depths and I found the words caught in my throat, I was unable to even try and speak, she ran to me and Naruto (Who annoyingly was crying too) and wrapped an arm around all of us.

Weird thing was… Sakura and Naruto's tears somehow got on my face, so it almost looked like the _three _of us were crying, which wasn't true, because Uchiha's don't cry.

At least… that's what I kept telling myself.

_**Sakura**_

I knew I would get emotional, it was just the first time I had seen them so happy- We were together. I never understood why Tsunade and Jariya were so- pained, until I realized how bad it hurt to loose a teammate to darkness, sadly Naruto had lost both of his to the same reason.

"So Sakura… Wanna' go get some ramen?" Naruto asked his voice hoarse and dripping with pure joy, I realized something, and turned to Tsunade, looking in the glazed over eyes of my mentor, the reason for my strength.

"Can I…?" I questioned, my eyes searching her face for distrust, but I merely earned a soft smile and sniffle from the woman, who motioned for us to leave.

I turned to do just that, when I remembered something, and turned to Tsunade, but she beat me to it.

"Oh, and tell him to drop the genjustu." She smirked, and I sighed and watched as Hidan appeared, towering over Naruto and Sasuke nearly a foot taller, before smirking at Tsunade and giving her somewhat of an army salute.

Naruto looked like he was going to see something, his anger towards the man evident, but for once he seemed to hold his tongue, Grabbing one of my hands, Sasuke grabbed the other, and I searched Hidan's face for any signs of anger, but instead only a hint of amusement glinted in his pinkish lavender eyes.

We walked through the streets, eyes of the villagers bore into me, and I felt a chill run down my spine as we passed a familiar street, and Naruto seemed to notice, but said nothing as we walked past Team 7's training ground without a word passed between any of us.

As we neared Ichiraku's I was surprised as hell Hidan had remained silent for so long, people still stared, but without our Akatsuki cloaks they hadn't said a word, some nurses from the hospital whom we passed on our way bowed respectively, their loyalty still surprising me.

"Okay, both of you _release_." I heard Hidan snarl aggressively when Ichiraku's was in our line of vision, before possessively draping an arm around my shoulders with a smirk, noticing the surprised look from the elderly shop keep who'd known me though my childhood, clearly having gotten much older, his daughter oddly not present, although by now the woman must be married.

The three of us chatted idly for nearly half an hour, mostly Naruto and I since Hidan couldn't open his mouth without spewing profanities and getting us kicked out of whatever establishment had been unlucky enough to wind up with us as customers, and Sasuke wasn't very good at talking in general, although from time to time he would push in a silent grunt or small opinion.

I blushed as I could feel Hidan's grasp tighten around me, seeing the eyes of the females that hungrily gauzed over his body caused a shudder to rack up my spine, reminding me of the well-toned man beside me, feeling the movement in the silver-haired man's body every time he moved, rippling in the most delicious way-

_Bad Sakura!_ I scolded myself, already feeling the churning heat in my abdomen, I folded my legs unconsciously to rip my mind from the tingling that resided between them, as I turned my attention back to the elder shop-keep who was waiting to take my order.

"Miso Ramen." I nodded with a smile, turning to watch a dark haired man approach the ramen stand, oddly enough I recognized him almost instantly, with a genuine smile I nodded to the newest of my 'old teammates'. "Hello, Sai."

"Hello Dickless, Traitor, and- Ugly?" He smirked, offering a hand to me, to which Hidan snarled at viciously and prepared to slap the pasty ex-ROOT members hand away, baring his teeth at the emotionless artist. "It's nice to see you back, with your… companion?" Sai questioned, cocking his head to the side curiously.

"_Husband_." Hidan snarled before I could stop it, what had him so on edge tonight? He seemed to be attacking any and every male that was unlucky enough to even _glance_ in my direction, causing an odd feeling of anger to spike through me, to which I simple sighed and began shuffling through my Kunai pouch, feeling the familiar rectangular cigarette package I had become so fond of over the ongoing years, popping one between my lips and shuffling through my pouch, where the hell was my lighter-

A flame illuminated the darkness as I turned to look at the spiky haired Shikamaru, a troubled look over his features as he lit his own cigarette once mine was fully tended to, I had expected to see him- as well as Ino and Choji, and was prepared for the rude, hurtful comments, which I would welcome with full arms.

He looked pained as his jaw clenched tighter, he was clearly trying to act perfectly normal, but I could feel the different fluctuations in his chakra, Hidan was silent for once, clearly knowing better than to patronize at this moment, however his grip tightened and I could sense the hatred rolling off Hidan as well.

My eyes instantly glowed crimson, something my body did on instinct when brought into uncomfortable situations, and before I could register my own movements my massive sword had come crashing down on the pineapple-headed nin, who instantly dropped henge to reveal a grass-nin with long brown hair had impersonated the lazy strategist.

Naruto- Who had gone completely AWOL when I struck the Nara, not knowing the deceit at the moment, was being easily subdued by my monstrously sized Hidan, towering over the blonde and holding him back with a hand fisted into his ridiculous orange jumpsuit, while Sasuke merely watched with surprised curiosity.

I looked down at the unconscious grass nin and holstered my sword once more, not bothering to re-wrap the damn thing, before I motioned lazily to the unconscious nin laying on the ground, it was a male, no more than a Chunin, "So, Who's coming with me to tell the Hokage that somehow Grass managed to infiltrate the village and kidnap Shikamaru?" I questioned, flinching inwardly at the tantrum that was more than likely to unravel in the woman's office in mere moments.

A sharp glare passed between our small group of people, knowing damn well what this meant, the war was on, although the glance that passed between Hidan and myself was more potent, and spoke much more than the others knew, or could comprehend.

_Madara was nearing._

_**Madara**_

I sat in the large tent, fiddling with the orange and black mask as I smirked down at the map that had been laid out before me, portraying a bird's eye view of the village that has fueled my long-lived hatred, the village that so foolishly denied my leadership, the village that would fall to its knees before me.

I fiddled with one of the wooden figurines in my hand, it was shaped as a small solder, and was meant to represent the Konohagakure Nin, but I saw something within it that couldn't be seen from anyone else; _that damned cherry blossom_.

The woman who had _singlehandedly_ ruined my plan to use the tailed beasts to join back together to re-form the ten-tails, the plan that had taken years to form, the plan that had caused more than many risks, many casualties, much careful planning, and on a moment of pure impulse she ruined it all, although much to her dismay- and a little to mine, shame to see such a pretty thing with such a powerful bloodline go- I wouldn't allow her further interference with my plans.

The flap to the tent was pushed aside, and I was greeted as a man with bright orange hair, being trailed by a woman with oceanic blue entered the tent, his face calm and serine as he stared at me through lavender ringed eyes, "The last of the troops have arrives, agents have been sent past the gates and the Nara has been captured." Pein nodded, inclining his head to the outside of the tent, where the strategist had been captured.

"I see." I nodded, running a thumb gently over the surface of the wooden figurine, a small smile gracing my lips as I gently pushed the mask over my face, clicking the latch in the back so it would stay in place.

"You're dismissed." I muttered to the orange haired, self-proclaimed god, who offered me a defiantly wary gauze before disappearing, his faithful little bitch trailing behind him, I'd never liked the woman, too- was it how selfless her loyalty to her orange haired partner was? I wasn't sure. She'd been that way since I had found the pair as children, broken, terrified children.

The of coarse, had no idea of my true intentions, and by the time I was finished, their moronic goals of peace would be nothing but dust in the wind, a faint wish that was never meant to be fulfilled,

"I'm coming for you, my cherry blossom."

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**Read and Review.**

**-Sakura-Centric**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One; a Night to Remember**

_**Sakura**_

I tapped my fingers on the wall behind me, sighing in irritation as Hidan toyed around with his scythe and Naruto fidgeted aimlessly, we were waiting on the other members of council to appear, namely, Hiashi Hyuga, and Tsunade-Shishou.

"This is _so_ boring." Naruto whined, after finishing carving a bar of soap he found in the bathroom with a kunai, it appeared to be a… radish? It might have been a duck or something, Naruto was never artistically gifted.

"Shut up." Hidan groaned, running a hand through his slicked-back silver locks, annoyed with Naruto who hadn't quit mumbling and complaining since we got here. I simply sighed and tugged at the zipper on my red shirt, sliding it down a bit so the breeze hit my collar bone; it was almost a _thousand degrees_ for some reason.

"You shut up, bastard!" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as his lips turned into a kind of pout, it was an odd sight, seeing him without his junjuriki markings, he looked so much like Minato- his father. It was almost an eerie resemblance.

A loud smack rang through the air as Hidan struck Naruto with the blunt end of his scythe in the motion almost like striking a pool ball, I rolled my eyes and stared at my unconscious blonde teammate who was sprawled out on the floor, drool dripping from his mouth, with how heavily he snores it surprised me that he was never ambushed while he was sleeping on a mission.

"You know Hidan; you should _probably_ refrain from attacking anyone else, you and I aren't exactly on good terms with the village right now. Besides that, you're going to give Naruto brain damage." I sighed, rubbing my temples in irritation, hearing Hidan grumble something unintelligible under his breath.

I heard a door slam somewhere further down the hallway and everyone's head turned to see Tsunade adorning her full length, white Kage robes and headpiece, Jariya and Shizune trailing behind her, although TonTon was no where in sight.

She offered a nod to Hidan and I before entering the door we were standing by, all three disappearing within, I nodded to Hidan who slung a still-unconscious Naruto over his shoulder before following behind me into the room where the council would soon be present.

The first one I noticed was Koharu, who was looking old and sour as she sat with a scowl, arms crossed before her, as her wrinkled eyes fell on me they narrowed, she pushed back her chair with a snarl and pointed an accusing finger at me, "And what is _she _doing here?" She spat.

I ignored her rude comment and strode up to the across from beside her, smiling pleasantly as Hidan pulled out the chair for me, his face stoic as stone as he took the seat beside myself, as I turned to face the elder woman, who looked like she would explode in mere moments from anger.

"I am here to represent the Haruno clan, and- As old testament states; you cannot deny me place on the council." I smiled, cocking my head to the side to grin innocently at the snarky old bitch, whose mouth gaped for a moment before she fell back into her seat, huffing like a child.

I drummed my fingers restlessly on the table, looking around to people I'd known my entire life, Shikamaru's dad, looking worried for his missing son, along with tired considering it was decently late in the night, Ino's father, looking annoyed, his eyes scanning over the silver-haired Jashinist beside me with clear hatred, along with Choji's father.

"Where's Hiashi?" Koharu spoke up, seeming to forget she was supposed to be pouting over my presence, "I don't want to be here all night."

A loud slam hushed the elder woman, and everyone's eyes went to Tsunade, her eyes shadowed by the Kage headdress, her fist still curled and placed over the surface of the table. "We'll be here as long as we need to be, we must protect our people." She spoke, contempt and irritation towards the elder woman fueling her tempered words.

At that moment, a loud crash followed by an angered snarl erupted and Hyuga Hiashi erupted from the door, his kimono slightly skewed to the left, his hair being straightened out by the frail, nervous looking woman behind him which I assumed was one of his servants because he slapped away her hands and scowled at her until she quickly and nervously left the room, closing the door behind her.

The click that followed sounded so… definite, so final.

My fingers laced together beneath my chin as I propped my elbows up on the table, staring at a clearly not amused Hyuga, whom was actually not looking at me with hatred, surprisingly. His eyes were busy drilling into the Hokage in the most subtle way possible.

"Who, may I ask, had soap shavings thrown across the floors so carelessly?" Hiashi practically snarled. I could feel my chest straining with discomfort as I tried not to laugh. I even tilted my head to the side and tried to cover it with a cough, but something told me Hiashi Hyuga didn't miss the action with his 'oh-so brilliant' byakugan eyes.

Hidan however, had no quarrel with cracking a grin at the honestly hilarious situation, I surely hope Naruto's soap-duck will be worth the sure beating he will receive from Lady Tsunade later this evening, unless we're already at war, and then I assume she'll wait until after to beat the blonde.

"Hiashi, take a seat." Tsunade warned, not the least bit concerned with Hiashi's petty pride at the moment, which was understandable considering the problem at hand. Going to war with the Akatsuki alone would be a big effort, but now that other villages were mixed in it was almost discouraging.

My eyes flickered to Hidan, who was eyeing Kurenai curiously, she didn't even turn to look at him, but the whiteness of her knuckles as she gripped the arm of her chair told me that she knew he was here, along with the sharp side-glances Kakashi was sending to me, but at the moment, neither of them mattered in the slightest.

"Lady Tsunade, when can we send a team to find my son?" Shikaku spoke, his usually calm and disinterested voice sounding shaky and forced. But who _wouldn't _be rattled if they were woken in the middle of the night saying their son was in the hands of a one-hundred year old sharringan wielding schizophrenic?

"Calm down, Shikaku. I understand your concern for your son, and a team has been sent." Tsunade nodded to the Nara clan leader before her honey-colored eyes flickered to me, hard as stone, demanding respect, authority practically radiated off her.

And I'm sure she could see the defiance in my eyes. The only reason I would ever take orders from this woman is because she taught me everything she knows, she was my one and only true mentor, like a mother to me. Except she didn't shove a god of death inside of me, of course.

"Lady Hokage, You can't be serious about discussing matters of an attack on the Akatsuki with former members, perhaps even spies-"

"That's enough, Koharu." Tsunade cut off, her eyes narrowing at the older woman, who then turned to the elder beside her, just as vile and yet to speak a word. Danzo had however not been here to witness it, because he was several feet in the ground.

"I also do not find it wise of you, Tsunade." A cracked, dry voice spoke up, I was wandering how long that old bag of bones would keep quiet, or maybe I was hoping he died in the hurry to get here.

"How kind of you to join us, Homura." I smiled innocently, not missing the distinct sneer he sent my way, I just batted my eyelashes and turned back to Lady Tsunade, seeing her watching me with wary eyes, as if she were trying to warn me to remember my place. Although I thought she knew me far better than that.

"I never betrayed Konohagakure, or its people. I have not once attacked a citizen or field Nin unless in self-defense. I disbanded which would have made me AWOL, but considering Uchiha Sasuke was given a pardon, I expect to be treated equally." I smirked, watching a frown appear on Homura's face as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and Koharu simply crossed her arms and continued glaring at me.

"You joined the organization, Akatsuki. That is a criminal organization against all villages, including your own, Miss Haruno." Homura spoke, the moonlight glinting off his glasses, glaring out his eyes.

"That's Lady Haruno." Hidan snarled, his massive hands clamping on to the edge of the table, a loud crack echoing through the room, His usually pinkish eyes taking on a more lavender color due to his bubbling anger. The unease in Shikaku and Kurenai was evident, but they had yet to speak against Hidan, surprisingly.

"There is no longer a _Haruno clan_." Koharu snapped, her eyes flickering to me, amusement dancing in them. She thought she was going to rile me up into a frenzy so I would look incompetent, even though I really fucking wanted to snap her over my knee, I would hit the bitch where it hurt; her completely undeserved pride.

"No thanks to your people. I have however illuminated the Kyubi threat and have valuable information on the Akatsuki, as well as my counterpart. That alone should grant us immunity, considering torture of any kind will not work on either of us. I may not have a bloodline to bargain with, but I'm sure you aren't that greedy, are you, Koharu? Homura?" I remarked, watching a small flush come to Koharu's cheeks, and an annoyed glint form in Homura's wrinkled eyes.

"Your 'counterpart' need I remind you, has committed a very high offense against this village." Koharu snarled, her eyes narrowing at the silver-haired man beside me, who simply smirked at the old woman, I could see the look on his face and went to speak to cover up whatever snide comment he was about to make that would ruin any chance of civility between any of us, when something strange happened.

"I have committed offenses against this village. However, Sakura and I are joined by marriage and from then on are held to the laws of our clan. The clan I originate from uses sacrifice in battle religiously. Therefore by the laws of Konohagakure you cannot become involved with matters inside of a private clan." He spoke evenly, and if I was correct, didn't use a single bit of profanity. I was stunned to say the least, because he was absolutely right, I almost forgot about the laws here. They were nearly medieval.

A loud crash echoed through the room and the blonde haired Tsunade who I had nearly forgotten was in the room finally had enough with the bickering between the two elders and me, clearly. "Damn it. I don't care who's in this room right now, we need something to do right now or our village will be destroyed!" She bellowed, her eyes a blazing gold.

"I suggest a frontal attack, we send in the Chunin and Jonin to the front," Chouza Akimichi began, laying out a map of the village and perimeter across the long rectangular table, everyone quite stunned he was first to speak, Shikaku was more of a strategist. ", and Sent the ANBU around here," He said, pointing to an underground junction used as a secondary defense during war. "They are bound to keep their leader somewhere in the middle. And seeing as its Uchiha Madara, he has to have the most potent chakra signature of everyone there." He nodded.

"I agree with the first wave, but we're outnumbered and certainly can't afford any of the casualties caused by such a blunt attack, we could create a smoke screen, plant the perimeter with paper bombs to force back the first few waves of attackers, that way we can at least have a few moments for our teams to correctly position themselves." Shikaku nodded, rubbing his chin in deep thought, his plan was actually quite smart, and forcing them back was probably a good idea, they didn't need to be fighting off thousands of other ninja while the civilians were evacuating.

"Have you contacted Suna, Lady Hokage?" Inoichi Yamanaka spoke up, his sharp blue eyes resting on the flattened piece of paper that showed a graphic sketch of the village and surrounding perimeter and forest, quite detailed actually.

"Yes. They have not responded yet. I can only hope they aren't suffering the same bad luck." She spoke, fingers entwined beneath her chin.

I could feel Shikaku's eyes on me, and inclined my head to the side, noticing the discomfort in his features I didn't snap at him like a usually would. I didn't have the right, I had dragged the man that had killed his son's Sensei into the village and made them damn sure that I wouldn't allow him to be jailed.

"You have information on the Akatsuki, correct?" He questioned sharply, his hazelnut colored eyes drilling in to me, age worn and swimming with concern, as a former friend of Shikamaru I was quite concerned myself. So I bit my tongue.

"Yes." I nodded, pushing back from my chair and walking to stand beside Chouza, who didn't even incline his head to say he noticed my presence, as I lent over the map, I propped myself onto my palms and swiftly knocked the pieces from it's surface, ignoring the annoyed grunts and gasps from me wiping out their plan.

I strategically began setting them up once more in a different order, explaining imperfections and flaws in their plan, "A frontal attack won't work, although the former part of Shikaku's plan would be ingenious as a distraction, we could place delayed smoke bombs and paper bombs around the front gates, where most are waiting, and then attack from underground, where Madera would least be expecting us to, since he knows Konoha like the back of his hand, he would assume we would be evacuating civilians through the tunnels." I nodded, moving another piece across the board, ignoring all who started speaking.

I was talking, and if they wanted to win this war, they would listen.

"We're outnumbered, but if we attack through the ground, it could give us the moment of infiltration we need. Madera won't be in the crowds, no, he knows better than that, and he expects that. He's most likely on the south wing, opposite of the gates, so he can infiltrate the village while most of our nin are fighting off the front waves of ninja, he care's not for his men, he'd sacrifice thousands to get to us unharmed, Hidan and I will go to the south wing and-"

"What makes you think you can take him by yourself?" An almost forgotten presence spoke up, my evergreen eyes flickered upwards to meet with Naruto's oceanic blue, doubt and concern swimming in them.

"Naruto, you'll just have to trust me on this-"

"No!" He protested, slamming two sun kissed hands on the table, defiance and sheer willpower radiating off of him, "There is no more trust, Sakura!" He snarled, his words striking deeply, but I couldn't allow it to show, now was not the time for that. "You can't face him, and probably the entire Akatsuki by yourself!"

I sighed, straightening and crossing my arms with a huff, turning to face Lady Tsunade, Naruto not a problem at the moment, beside his protesting groans and words against being ignored. "Lady Tsunade, I haven't the slightest doubt that most of the Akatsuki's current members will switch sides once they see me oncoming with Hidan, most are there just for the pay and home, they most likely didn't even want to participate in the war that's about to break loose, and then, in that moment of doubt, Hidan can fight off the remaining members while I go for Madara." I nodded, eyes flickering to Hidan who looked like a statue radiating power, arms crossed and eyes hard, towering over most men in the room.

I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath, noting everyone in the room had come to a hush, even Tsunade looked doubtful of my plan.

"Listen, I know these men like the back of my hand. I know their quirks, their fighting styles, their weaknesses, and I also know that more than most of them are there because they couldn't get out or were forced in, if they're offered a place to go, they'll take it, and fight alongside us." I remarked, watching the doubt still swim in my old Shishou's eyes.

"**Disperse. **We'll attack tomorrow at dawn." Tsunade spoke lowly; for once she seemed to truly fear for our village.

I clamped a hand on her shoulder and turned to take Hidan's offered arm, before he lead me out of the room, where two ANBU blackops met us in the doorway, one I noticed was wearing the mask of a bear, Izaya. The other, I did not recognize.

"Follow us, and we'll lead you to your rooms, Lady Haruno." Izaya spoke, he was one of the younger ANBU, I'd trained him some in medical Ninjutsu, I believe. I nearly blushed at the honorific, considering most ANBU were more timid around me now, less trusting. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that this young man still held some kind of faith in me.

I wouldn't.

I closed my eyes, cherishing the feeling of being in the village for what may be the last time, leaning my head on Hidan's arm, taking a slow breath, breathing in the scent of the village, feeling it's warm air. The hatred I held to it was still alive, just slowly burning to nothing. I didn't want my last moments on this Earth to be filled with hatred or sorrow.

I felt Hidan's grip tighten, I know he was worried for me, ever since Kakashi had stuck his hand through my chest in an attempt to kill me, He'd been treating me like a glass doll, one that would shatter at the lightest touch. I sighed and leaned in to his touch, to relieve some of the stress from his monster grip. I closed my eyes. Relishing the feel of him as if it would be the last time, and maybe it would be, after tomorrow.

We were lead to one of the democratic sweats in the back of the Kage tower, one used for traveling Kage's and diplomats. Although I doubt they were trying to make us comfortable, this is the best guarded place in the village besides the Investigation tower.

As soon as we were inside the ANBU took a stand outside of the door, they tried to mask their chakra, but I could smell it, (Thanks to the Kyubi and his keen sense of smell.)

Hidan turned to me, concern swimming in his lavender depth, before gripping my forearms and yanking me forward into a powerful, demanding kiss, his soft lips traveling along the nape of my neck almost desperately.

I closed my eyes and let my fingers slide through his soft tousled locks, enjoying his very feral snarl of appreciation. Soon I was lifted from the ground, my legs instinctively wrapped around Hidan's waist, my back meeting against the back of the wall harshly, pain radiating through it for a moment, but that was pushed aside when my shirt was torn from me, I snarled at the loss, but as Hidan's warm, hot lips started traveling along my collarbone, leaving hot wet marks that his breath fanned against.

A gasped as he cut through my chest bindings in one slice, my breasts bouncing free, his animalistic grin caused a burning between my legs, I groaned and lent my head back, whining for him to continue, rocking my hips forward until I felt his lips on my neck, and his fingertips brushing alongside my breasts, along the sides, as if outlining them with his hands, every now and again the pad of his thumb would swipe over the sensitive peak, causing a gasp to slip past my lips, now burning from my teeth digging in to them.

"Say my name." His breathing was labored, but as his fingers pinched down hard over my nipple I found myself crying out in a mixture of pain and agonizing pleasure, I could feel the wetness forming between my legs as he rolled his hips into mine, I could feel the throbbing of his manhood teasing me.

I snarled and forced myself forward, fingers clutching into his hair and pulling at the roots, my lips meeting his in a dangerous dance for dominance. My tongue sliding along his lower lip, meeting his, I pushed the black T-shirt he had been wearing from his form, purring as I ran a hand over his rippling muscles, which were clenching with arousal.

"Say it, Sakura." He snarled, I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep from screaming it out just so he would continue, but I wasn't going to give in, this was a game and I would play it to the end.

"I want to play doctor." I whispered harshly into his ear, a bright green glow dancing onto my fingertips, my hands dancing over his back until I found the nerve in the junction of his lower back, hearing a loud grown followed by 'not fair', as I attacked his pleasure system.

His teeth burrowed into my shoulder, I mewled as I felt my blood dribble down my shoulder, and Hidan's tongue lapped hungrily at the thick crimson liquid. I rocked my hips forward once more, grinding hard against his now rock hard manhood, biting down on my lower lip as he furiously thrust forward, hitting hard against my clothed clit, only a thin layer of spandex between us.

I felt his index start rubbing down the clothed slit, I could feel the moisture already building on the layer of spandex, I let out a rough moan as his fingers pushed harder against me,

I built chakra into my hands and shoved hard against him, knocking him to the floor and onto his back, my sensitive breasts bouncing at the action, causing me to moan and clutch desperately at his back, nails digging in to the skin as I straddled him, smirking at the sinister face he wore.

He bent forward, his breath hot on my neck, sensitive from the open mouth kisses earlier, his lips touching the lobe of my ear as he harshly whispered, his hands clutching roughly into my long pink tresses, "We're going to do this the right way."

I gave him a questioning look, before I felt the tip of a kunai slice roughly into my shoulder, I moaned from pain mixed pleasure as blood spilled from my shoulder, Hidan began drawing the symbol of Jashin on the left, I smirked and buried a kunai in his shoulder, watching the deep crimson liquid flow.

I repeated his process, watching as the shadows from the room wavered and began crawling up our skin. The symbols of our transformational states covering our skin, He looked at me through lavender eyes as I bend down and ran my tongue over the skeletal markings by his parted lips, his own tongue snaking out to meet mine.

He tasted of blood and sweat, delicious.

His hand still fisted in my hair tightened and I felt him give a rough tug forward, his lips meeting my own, tongue snaking out and running along the swirling marking on my cheeks, my eyes instinctively taking on a crimson hue, the glow illuminates my face.

"You're so fucking beautiful the way Jashin created you." He whispered as I heard the click of a buckle, and Hidan's manhood sprung free through the zipper of his pants, pressing hard against my abdomen, droplets of pre-cum causing droplets of moisture on its surface.

My spandex shorts were expertly sliced off, leaving me in my medical apron, hardly covering anything as is, his manhood brushed along my entrance as I lifted my hips to make it more accessible, as I began lowering myself over his length I grunted, he groaned in response as he felt my tight walls clenching around his member, his hands still fisted into my hair as he roughly thrust forward, causing a moan to escape my lips.

"Say my name." he growled lowly, causing me to scream out, unintelligible mixtures of sounds that didn't really count as words, his fingers curled around my throat, choking me as he roughly fucked me, I felt my walls tightening, I closed my eyes and met each thrust, which was getting quicker and more desperate.

"Say it." He snarled with a rough up thrust.

I didn't give in, my eyes clenched shut as I felt one of his fingers tracing my nipples, before clamping down and pinching it, I moaned, which came out a strangled gasp considering one of his hands was busy strangling me, I felt the juices of my womanhood making it a more slick ride.

"Say it." He said, his hand that once occupied my nipple reached under to start pinching and rubbing at my clit, slick with moisture, his cock harshly throbbing within my tight walls, he was getting so close, I just had to hold off that….

"_**Hidan**_!"

I felt his seed fill me, mixing with my own juices as I slowly rode off my orgasm, eyes clenched and muscles tingling, my head spinning from how hard I had came.

I opened my eyes to see a wide grin on his face, his breathing labored and a devilish glint in his eyes as he yanked me forward by my hair, bringing his lips to my ear once more,

"Don't forget Hime, We need to survive tomorrow. I'll make fucking sure we do. _You're still promised to me._"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o **

**A little HidaSaku for you glorious souls, a rushed lemon, but I thought it was nice if I do say so myself.  
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**Don't forget to review, the more reviews, the quicker I update. I only oil the squeaky wheel, hehe. **


	22. Chapter 22

Hello my dear and precious readers,

I wanted to let all of you know I will be updating soon. I'm having some technical difficulties and I lost all of my previous work. I will have to re-start the new chaper I have written for this story along with the rest. So if you're a fan of my other work, you should be excited. This will be a new era for my stories and I plan for everything to get much more interesting.

Also, I am currently looking for a beta. If you're interested, please PM me and I'm sure I'll be updating much faster.

Love,  
>Sakura-Centric xoxo<p> 


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Two; On the Front Lines**

_**Sakura**_

I tightened the straps of my fingerless gloves, flexing my fists as I adjusted them. My eyes drifted upwards to the mirror once more, and an icy chill spread over my skin.

I didn't look like the same woman I've been for the past few years. I didn't look like the member of a criminal organization, I looked like... Sakura Haruno. I pulled the zipper of my red, sleeveless shirt upwards. Closing my eyes and sucking in an assuring breath I attempted to steady my racing heartbeat. All the barracks of ninja would be moving out in less than an hour. I've taken on my fare share of armies, but never have I had so much hanging on the line.

I knew Madara; I worked alongside him for far too long. I know the way he thinks; he isn't the kind to half ass things. Seeing as he's down one tailed beast, he's more than likely come up with another plan. I may have stolen the battle, but now he's angry and hell bent on winning the war.

"Sakura,"

I jumped at the feminine voice behind me, and turned to meet the chestnut brown eyes of my former shishou, the fifth Hokage herself. I noticed she was holding something in her hand and offered a curious glance as I pulled my long, pastel locks into a tight bun.

"This is a formality only offered today... but it seemed fitting." She said slowly, her cheeks dusted pink as she looked away in timid irritation, only then did notice the unscratched, red-cloth leaf headband clenched in her hand. I felt a deep red blush burn my cheeks as I stared down at the headband, I couldn't wear this. I wasn't a leaf ninja; I'm no longer allowed to-

"Sakura, as your former mentor I order you." Tsunade said, her eyes hard as she offered out the headband to me again, this time I could sense that she wouldn't take no for an answer, so I grabbed the headband by the cool metal plate, staring down at it. I remember being a young girl and wanting nothing more than this little headband, as I look at it now I don't understand why. I still consider myself an honorable shinobi, even if I haven't been under the rule of any specific village. This little headband doesn't mean anything to me anymo-

A painful clench echoed through my chest as my eyes met with the Hokage. I knew that she was aware what I was thinking, her long, slender fingers had curled around the headband, and she began to tie it around my head herself.

"When you're wearing this headband you are a leaf ninja. That doesn't mean that you're one of our drones, it means you're fighting alongside Naruto, Ino, Kakashi and even me, Sakura. It means you're standing with your comrades."

My teeth buried themselves into my lower lip. Her words struck a note in me. My eyes lowered to my beige medical apron, it looked so time-worn, I could see spots where it had been scratched and burned, covered with quick patch jobs. It held scars, as I did myself. My red top bore the Haruno crest, I felt like I had fallen back into the past. I met eyes with the blonde haired Hokage; she pressed a firm hand on my shoulder, squeezing tightly, so much so that if I were any other person she might have crushed my collar bone.

"Stand with us Sakura; remember who your true friends are." She said, her eyes hard on me as she turned to leave the room, her blonde pigtails tossing behind her. I felt my eyes mist a bit now that I was alone. It was hard to keep normal breaths. Why did I feel so guilty? I haven't done anything wrong. I pressed my fingers to my forehead with a sigh; I need to pull myself together, **now.**

_**Come together, little one. **_

**Get your puny little mortal mind in gear****;**** I'm not going to die today. **

I groaned. The Kyubi and Yama were so conflicting to each other. I paused from my inner turmoil as I felt Hidan's chakra presence nearing, I turned just in time as I caught the window opening, and my breath hitched in my throat.

Hidan was wearing standard black Jounin training pants with a deep grey flak jacket, a fishnet T-shirt peeking out from the jacket, dark combat boots to compliment it. His scythe strapped firmly to his back. It was such an odd look for him, I found myself openly staring, and a blush touched my cheeks as I looked up to see him smirking at me.

"Hello love, like what you see?" He said, his dark purple eyes traveling over my body seductively, landing on my headband, at that point he had an eyebrow raised in curiosity, but something deeper swam in his eyes, some kind of sorrow that I couldn't quite understand, was he... was he worried for me?

I flinched as I felt two strong arms wind around me, my blush deepened and I felt Hidan's chin rest on my shoulder.

"We're going to do this together, Sakura, got it?" His gruff voice vibrated through my body, sending chills up my spine as I felt the heavy impact of his words, and the meaning behind them.

_**If we die, we die together. **_

I didn't notice that my hands were now clutching desperately to his shoulders, like I was sinking and he was the only thing keeping me afloat, or that his grip on me had tightened to almost painful levels. We were sinking together, we were most definitely outnumbered, but something kept me going. I knew that against Madara I had a fighting chance, my body contained two of the strongest forces in the five nations, and while he may have the other tailed beasts,

I have a god on my side.

My hands stopped trembling as I nuzzled into Hidan's chest, inhaling the strong scent of spices and blood.

"Together."

"Together."

_**Front Lines (Naruto, Ino, Choji, Sasuke and Hinata)**_

"Have you all placed the paper bombs and explosive tags?" The blonde haired Yaminaka heiress questioned, looking down at the timer in her hands, counting down to the time that they would detonate.

"Yeah, Teme and I took care of it." Naruto said. His usually happy and carefree face was serious and somber as he pulled five little black ear bugs out, handing one to each member of the five-man squad before placing his own in his ear.

They each pressed the small button on the back of the ear bug, testing out the connection between them.

"Okay, Hinata-Chan and Ino are going to work with the medics, right?" Naruto questioned, Hinata and Ino nodded in response, Ino's bright blue eyes dulling with sorrow as her small hand went to her two-month pregnant bulge. Tsunade-Sama wouldn't allow her on the battlefield, but if she didn't do her best to help retrieve Shikamaru from the Akatsuki, her child may not have a father...

Chouji stepped forward, two cases of special Akimichi food pills in his hand, "These are a gift, from my father." He said, handing them to Sasuke and Naruto, who both nodded in a form of thank-you.

"Alright guys, thirty-two minutes." Naruto said, his eyes traveling along the fellow rookie nine that stood before him.

"I'll be fighting for Ino-Shika-Cho." Choji said, pumping a fist in the air with force, Ino followed suit with teary eyes.

"To the rookie nine; fighting in the fourth ninja war." Hinata, the usually timid heiress said, holding a hand out, Naruto's covered hers, along with Ino's, Choji's, and even Sasuke.

"We're gunna win this one, _**b**__**elieve it!**_"

_**Sakura**_

Hidan and I stood at our post, the back wing of the village. I could feel the ninja just past the first mile, they surrounded us, but the clustering of the group was more toward the direction they were facing. The chakra signatures stood well in the thousands, I'd be a fool to believe there would be no casualties, this was war after all. I just hope it's no one precious to me, as awful as that sounds.

My eyes shifted to Hidan, he was standing beside me, his fingers drumming against his thigh, a twinkle of anticipation on his eyes.

"Can you clear out the first few waves of ninja?" I questioned, hearing a loud scoff from his direction I sighed, over confident per usual.

"Of course, I haven't sacrificed anyone in a while. My scythe is starting to turn silver." He sighed, touching the crimson blade before looking over to give me a toothy grin and a wink. I rubbed my temples as my hand went to my zanbato, I heaved the immense sword off my shoulder and forward, the bandages falling down and tumbling over the edge of the wall's of Konoha, landing far at the ground below.

I ran my fingers over the smooth crimson blade, tracing the mark of Jashin along its side. My eyes closed, and for a fraction of a second I could feel the Kyubi and Yama pumping through my veins in sync, like we were one entity. I could also feel a trace of Madara's chakra, he wasn't far. It flared the second I felt it, it ran in wild flames.

He was more than angry, he was **pissed**.

His grand scheme was foiled by two of his pawns, and now he had those same pawns coming after him, one of which, I was positive he was cautious about. He knew of my abilities, but I also knew of his. I was no fool, there was a possibility Madara could defeat me, and I knew that he had some tricks up his sleeve, he was far too smart to come at the leaf village without an ace in the hole. I just hoped that I got to him before things got too out of hand, because I was positive things were going to get heavy, soon.

Jashin, please be on my side today. I sent a small prayer in my head, and used Yama's chakra to cool my nerves. The timer in my medical apron sounded, and in less than a second's time, Hidan and I had taken off into the trees. No later did the waves of ninja start coming.

We weaved in and out of the sound ninja, our blades quickly slicing through them with little effort, Hidan's loud roars and the sounds of heavy footsteps of invading ninja and the swipe of our blades. Our clothing was drenched with blood and we've not even made it through the first mile, ninja came from every direction, Hidan and I were back to back, parrying and blocking waves of kunai and ninja.

"We're not getting very far with this." I sighed, ducking the blow of an oncoming grass ninja. My partner didn't seem to be tiring, nor did I, but I knew it would be pointless to sit and try to kill an entire fleet of ninja, I needed to get straight to Madara as soon as possible or Shikamaru will no doubt be killed.

"I'm going to go ahead." I whispered to Hidan, who displayed a sort of conflicting face before grunting and nodding in my direction as he sliced through an oncoming ninja with one swipe of his blade. I wanted to say something sweet to him, something to assure him of my love, but I could see the emotions swirling in his eyes, the pain.

It took all the strength I had to simply nod my head and flee, disappearing via transportation jutsu into the eye of the storm, the closest trail I had to Madara. My heart leapt a bit at the sound of steady footsteps behind me.

"Konan?"

…

**I FINALLY UPDATED, YAY. **

**Shower me with love and reviews, also, I'd like to add that I had a fabulous beta to thank for the lack of grammatical erros in this chapter; Akemi Spangler. **

**A round of applause for her please, or I may not have updated at all. **

**Xoxox, I'll update ASAP. **


	24. AUTHORS NOTE (IMPORTANT)

**Hello everyone, **

**I know this probably isn't what you all wanted but this story and a couple of my others are going to be under massive reconstruction, most were started when I was a new writer and my spelling and storylines are all pretty sloppy. I hope you can forgive me and be patient with me as I go through this process. I hope to make the stories easier for you to read and follow. **

**So much love, **

**Sakura-Centric. **


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